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The Batter Thickens

A food blog balancing sweet treats & healthy eats.

Half Baked Tarte

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This is not actually a half baked tarte, it’s just inspired by the Ben and Jerry’s ice cream flavor Half Baked. I became a big fan of Half Baked ice cream in Germany, where my mom conceded to buying Ben & Jerry’s ice cream more often than usual, because it was an American treat. So I always asked for Half Baked, which is a swirl of chocolate and vanilla ice cream with cookie dough and brownie chunks. It really is the best of both worlds. A wonder to my 10 year old brain!

When I saw the brownie caramel recipe from Milk Bar, I knew I had to make something Half Baked inspired. I used the brownie caramel in this tarte recipe, and since that was so good it only seemed right to make another tarte, using the same formula. (Cookie crust, caramel filling, chocolate topping.)

I also bought that tarte pan and want to put it to use!!

The two tartes I’ve made have been very easy to prepare. There probably are more complicated ways to put the pan to use, so perhaps I’ll have to figure out what more to make.

But for now, this simple formula works out pretty well!

This brownie caramel is one of those things that I just cannot get enough of.

When my sister first made this peanut butter ice cream, she woke me up (it took a while to freeze, and I had high school the next morning, so I was in bed at like 10pm) just to inform me how good it was, and that she had licked the ice cream machine clean because it was so good, and gotten some of it in her hair. I think of that frequently though, because it was funny, but also because how many things do you make that truly make you want to lick the bowl clean? And then wake up your 15 year old sister just to tell her?

That ice cream was one of them, and this brownie caramel is another. A truly exceptional, cannot get enough sort of treat.

This Half Baked Tarte really is a sort of perfect dessert. Cookie, brownie, chocolate, caramel, crunchy, and chewy… It’s got it all! Just like the ice cream. I could have introduced a stronger vanilla to be a truer homage to the ice cream, but… I think it’s great as its own thing.

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Half Baked Tarte

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  • Author: Audrey
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Ingredients

Brownie Caramel:

  • 1 cup sugar (divided)
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • ⅓ cup dark chocolate chips
  • 1½ cups boxed brownie mix
  • 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Chocolate Chip Cookie Crust:

  • 1 cup + 2 tbsp flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 stick butter
  • 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Chocolate Topping:

  • 1/2 cup chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
  • 2 tablespoons coconut oil

Instructions

  1. Prepare the Brownie Caramel: Caramel requires all of your attention – so measure all the ingredients beforehand and keep them close by, you don’t want to be scrambling to measure something while the caramel burns!
  2. Make a dry caramel: In a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan, cook ¼ cup of the sugar over medium-high heat. As soon as the sugar starts to melt, use a heat-resistant spatula to move it constantly around the pan—you want it all to melt and caramelize evenly to a gorgeous amber color. Once the first amount of sugar has taken on color, add an additional ¼ cup sugar to the existing caramel in the pan, repeating the previous steps—cook and stir, cook and stir, until the mixture is once again a gorgeous amber color. Continue adding ¼ cup sugar twice more until all your sugar has become one pretty pan of caramel.
  3. Remove pan from heat and stir in the unsalted butter until melted.
  4. Next, carefully and slowly stream in the heavy cream, whisking all the while. The mixture will sputter and bubble and produce a ton of steam so watch your hands.
  5. Add chocolate chips and stir until melted. Finally, add in toasted brownie mix, cocoa powder, and salt and whisk until smooth.
  6. Transfer caramel to an airtight container and chill for at least an hour, or until thick and glossy, before assembling the tarte. Caramel can be made up to 4 days ahead of time, stored in an airtight container in the fridge.
  7. Prepare the cookie crust: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
  8. In a large bowl, beat butter, sugars, and vanilla extract until creamy. Add egg and beat well.
  9. Gradually beat in the flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir in the chocolate chips.
  10. Press cookie dough into the bottom of a greased tarte pan.
  11. Bake until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Once out of the oven, press down and into the sides of the pan gently, to even out the crust and prevent it from getting puffy. Allow to cool.
  12. Once the crust is cooled, poor in the brownie caramel. If the brownie caramel has gotten too thick, heat it in the microwave in 30 second increments until pourable. Pour into the crust and spread evenly.
  13. Put the crust and filling in the fridge until completely cooled.
  14. Once the caramel is cooled and set, melt the chocolate and white chocolate chips in separate bowls. Stir in one tablespoon of coconut oil into each and stir until smooth.
  15. Pour the chocolate and white chocolate over the top of the caramel and swirl together.
  16. Allow to set.

Notes

Crust from the back of a Toll House chocolate chip bag, brownie caramel from Milk Bar