Golden Whisk Award Winning Recipe

As promised, here is our Golden Whisk Award-winning recipe that Chef Stacey created for the Desserts First competition on January 27th! The event was also a fundraiser for the Girl Scouts.

Salted Caramel Coconut Tart by stacey borah, sweet surrender dessert cafe

Ingredients for all components:

2 boxes of Samoa Girl Scout Cookies

1 3/4 cups coconut

2 large eggs

1 qt cream

1 1/4 cups sugar

½ tsp vanilla

14 oz bittersweet chocolate (small pieces)

1/8 tsp coarse salt

Preheat oven to 350

Prep:

Spray 2-10"cake pans with non-stick spray and line them with plastic wrap, making sure that the plastic is as smooth as possible and there are no large air bubbles.

Make the cookie base:

Place 2 entire boxes of samoas (minus a few for garnish) in the food processor. Process until fine and sandy with the appearance of graham cracker crumbs. Press crumbs into first prepared pan and bake until set, about 10 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

Make the sponge (adapted from simply sensational desserts by Francois Payard):

2 large eggs (room temperature)

3/4 cup sugar

1 3/4 cups dried shredded coconut

Put the eggs and sugar in a bowl (or in a stand mixer) and whisk on high until it has tripled in volume. Then, using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the coconut. Spread in an even layer in the second prepared cake pan and bake for 15-20 minutes, until it is light golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on wire rack

Make the caramel:

2 1/3 cups heavy cream

½ cup sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla

Place cream and sugar in the largest heavy bottomed sauce pan that you own. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook until thick and caramel colored, stirring very frequently. This mixture just loves to boil over, hence using the largest pan you own. Once it is thick and a medium caramel color, remove from stove and cool.

Make the ganache:

14 oz bittersweet chocolate

1 2/3 cup cream

Place chocolate in a large bowl. Heat cream to a boil, then immediately pour boiling cream over the chocolate. Whisk until smooth and cohesive. Chill until thick put still pliable.

Assemble!

Leave your baked cookie base in its original plastic lined pan, and spread some cooled caramel over it in a thick, even layer. Sprinkle 1/8 teaspoon of coarse salt over the caramel, making sure to spread it as evenly as possible. Take the coconut sponge layer out of its plastic (carefully!) and press it on the caramel layer. Then spread an even layer of ganache over that. Finally, take any extra caramel and ganache and drizzle them over the top .

Place the tart in the freezer for roughly an hour, until it chills and is set. Then gently tug on the plastic wrap to release it from the pan. Discard plastic wrap and place tart on serving dish. Makes 16 generous servings.