Chocolate and Rosewater Caramel Tart

As it was world chocolate day, I decided to bake something decadent and chocolatey, so thought a chocolate ganache tart had to be the best idea. This bake was not without experiment and challenge as this is the first completely dairy free caramel I have made. It was a little runnier than intended so if you want a tart that doesn't ooze, you may have to experiment with more margarine or full fat coconut milk, or wait and watch this space for my next caramel bake. 

Recipe - Makes an 18cm tart

For the chocolate pastry:

• 65g plain flour
• 15g cocoa powder
• 35g dairy-free margarine, cubed
• 15g icing sugar
• 1 tbsp aquafaba
• 1 tbsp water

For the rose caramel:

• 90g caster sugar
• 30ml water
• 30ml soya milk
• 15g dairy-free margarine
• 1/4 tsp rosewater

For the chocolate ganache:

• 110g dark chocolate (35% cocoa solids)
• 70ml soya milk
• 15g dairy-free margarine
• Rose petals, to decorate

Firstly, make the chocolate pastry. Combine the flour and cocoa powder in a bowl then add the margarine. Rub in to form a breadcrumb like mixture. Add the icing sugar and aquafaba, then slowly tip in the water, bringing the mix together to form a rough dough. Wrap in clingfilm and chill for 20 minutes. 

Remove the pastry from the fridge and roll out between two pieces of clingfilm to a round large enough to line the bottom and sides of an 18cm diameter tart tin. Peel off the top piece of clingfilm and tip onto the tart tin, gently lowering into the edges and pressing up the sides. Press the pastry over the edges to leave a slight overhang then peel off the top piece of clingfilm. Cover loosely with clingfilm and chill for 30 minutes. 

Preheat the oven at 170C and put a baking tray inside to heat up. When chilled, remove the tart tin from the fridge, put a piece of baking paper into the pastry and add baking beans. Place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes, remove the baking beans and baking paper then return to the oven and bake for a further 15 minutes until cooked through. Remove the tart tin from the oven and leave to cool, before trimming the edges using a sharp knife. Loosen the pastry from the tart tin to ensure it's not stuck, but leave inside the tin.

Prepare the caramel by putting the sugar and water in a pan. Place over a low to medium heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Once dissolved, boil on the low to medium heat until the syrup turns a golden straw colour. Meanwhile, heat the soya milk and margarine. Once the sugar syrup has caramelised, remove from the heat and pour the milk and margarine mix in slowly, stirring constantly. Keep stirring until well mixed, returning to a low heat if needed to melt any lumps of the sugar. Pour into a jug and leave to cool briefly, then stir through the rose water and pour into the pastry case. Put in the fridge to chill to set.

Make the chocolate ganache by chopping the dark chocolate into fine pieces, or put into a food processor and whizz into crumbs. Heat the soya milk to almost boiling, then pour into the chocolate slowly, stirring gently (or process to combined), then stir in the margarine. If needed, heat gently, but avoid overheating. Leave the ganache to cool to room temperature, then spoon onto the caramel. Leave to set (ideally at room temperature but in the fridge if necessary) then decorate with rose petals, before serving.