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1
To make the crust, mix the flour, sugar, salt and lemon peel in a food processor.
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2
Add the butter, followed by the egg yolk and vanilla.
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3
Process the dough it begins to hold together in clumps.
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4
Gather the dough and flatten into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap.
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5
Chill for at least 20 minutes.
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6
(You can also make the dough by hand by cutting th butter then mixing in the remaining ingredients, but a food processor makes it easy.)
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7
Preheat oven to 400 F.
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8
Roll out dough and fit in a 9 or 10 inch tart pan.
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9
Pierce the surface of the crust all over with a fork to keep it from bubbly up during baking.
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10
Place tart pan with dough in the freezer for 10 minutes, then bake for 15-20 minutes or until crust is golden brown.
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11
Cool on a wire rack.
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12
To make chocolate filling, place cream in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil.
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13
Remove from heat and stir in the chocolate.
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14
Continue stirring until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is smooth.
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15
Spread 1 1/4 cup of the chocolate filling inn the bottom of the tart crust.
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16
NOTE: If you plan on topping your tart with chopped nuts, then put all the chocolate mixture in the baked tart crust.
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17
If you're not using nuts, reserve the remaining chocolate for the top layer decoration.
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18
Chill the tart crust filled with chocolate for about 30 minutes.
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19
To make the caramel, combine the sugar and water in a heavy saucepan and stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves.
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20
Increase the heat and boil the syrup until it becomes golden brown in color, about 6-8 minutes.
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21
Remove the mixture from the heat and stir in the cream, butter, vanilla and salt.
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22
Be careful, the mixture will bubble up.
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23
Return to the stove and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
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24
Chill for about 20 minutes.
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25
Spoon the caramel layer over the chocolate tart.
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26
If you're not using nuts, put remaining chocolate in a pastry bag and pipe decorative squiggles (technical term) or designs over the surface of the tart.
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27
You can also randomly drizzle on the chocolate.
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28
If you're using nuts, sprinkle the nuts over the caramel layer instead.
