Carac Recipe – the Swiss Classic Step by Step
Shortcrust pastry, Ganache, Fondant — and the dot in the middle
The small round shortcrust pastry tartelette, filled with dark Ganache, coated in green Fondant and with a chocolate dot in the middle: that's the carac as we know it. It's one of the few Swiss classics you can really pull off at home just like at the pâtisserie — provided you know the one temperature everything hinges on. We'll show you the whole process, along with three pastry variations and a few ideas for turning the classic into something entirely your own.
The recipe on video
26:00 min
Ingredients
Shortcrust pastry
Fondant coating
Step by step
Shortcrust pastry
Preheat the oven
160 °C fan.
Cream the butter and sugar
Beat the soft butter with the icing sugar until the mixture turns lighter and fluffier — with a stand mixer or the hand mixer.
Work in the egg and flour
Add the beaten whole egg and stir it in briefly. Then add the dry ingredients, stir in briefly, turn out onto the work surface and quickly knead by hand. The longer you knead, the tougher the dough becomes.
Chill
Wrap in cling film: 20 minutes in the fridge or 10 minutes in the freezer.
Roll out
Halve the dough and put one half back in the cold. Knead the other briefly and roll it out 3 mm thick on a floured surface — rolling guides keep it evenly thick all over.
Rolling guides set, 6 pieces
Cut out the bases
Grease and flour the perforated moulds. Cut out the bases and place them on the tray with a spatula. Do the same with the second half.
Roll down to 2 mm
Remove the rolling guides and go over the dough once more with light pressure until it is 2 mm thick. A dough divider helps to get an even edge.
Blind bake
Line the moulds neatly, put a small piece of baking paper inside, fill with blind-baking beads and bake for 10 minutes at 160 °C fan. Then leave to cool on the cake rack.
Ganache
Cook the Ganache
Bring the full cream and butter to a boil. Weigh the couverture into a Bowl, pour the hot mixture over it, let it sit briefly, then stir with the Whisk into a smooth, glossy mass.
Fill and let it set
Put the Ganache into the Piping bag and fill the cooled bases to 3 mm below the rim. 30 minutes in the fridge — or 2 hours at room temperature.
Felchlin Couverture Grand Cru Maracaibo 65 % 0.5 kg
Disposable Piping Bags Transparent 20 pieces
Piping bag holder white, Ø 19.5 cm
Fondant coating
Cook the Syrup
Bring water and granulated sugar to a boil, let it boil for 1 minute, then remove from the heat.
Temper the Fondant
Warm the Soft melting fondant on a low setting and stir in 2–3 tbsp Syrup. Not above 40 °C — beyond that the coating loses its shine, and that can no longer be fixed.
Insertion thermometer digital
Color it
Stir in a knife tip of Gel color until the Fondant is evenly colored. Traditionally green — but you can use any color.
Coat
Put the Fondant into the Piping bag and fill up the last 3 mm. Work quickly, as the mass cools down fast. Re-color the rest and repeat — two colors with little effort.
The dot
A dab of tempered Dark couverture in the middle. That is the signature mark of the carac.
Carac
Ingredients
Shortcrust pastry
Ganache
Fondant coating
Preparation
- Dough: Cream the butter and icing sugar, add the egg, briefly knead in the flour.
- Chill: 20 min. in the fridge.
- Roll out: 3 mm, cut out the bases, roll down to 2 mm.
- Bake: Line the moulds, bake blind: 160 °C fan, 10 min.
- Ganache: Bring the cream and butter to the boil, pour over the couverture, stir until smooth.
- Fill: Up to 3 mm below the rim, chill for 30 min.
- Syrup: Boil the water and sugar for 1 min.
- Fondant: Warm up, add the syrup — max. 40 °C — colour it.
- Coat: Fill up the last 3 mm, work quickly.
- Dot: A dab of tempered couverture in the centre.
Nutritional values per 100 g
Storage & shelf life
Everything for this recipe
Recommended from our bakery — exactly the sizes the recipe was tested with.
Ingredients
Bourbon Vanilla Seeds, 5 g
Felchlin Couverture Grand Cru Maracaibo 65 % 0.5 kg
Soft melting fondant (Liquid fondant), 1.20 kg
Progel Gel color Bright Green, 25 g
Tartelettes Ø 7 cm, 12 pieces
Sugar pearls Gold Small 65 g
White flour, 1 kg
Accessories
Rolling pin set, 6 pieces
Baking beans, 600g
Digital insertion thermometer
Disposable piping bags, transparent, 20 pieces
Piping bag holder, white, Ø 19.5 cm
Delivery in 1–2 working days · Free shipping from CHF 100*
A nice touch
Not needed for the recipe — but it fits.
Tartelettes Ø 5.3 cm, 24 pieces
Tartelettes Ø 3.8 cm, 40 pieces
Chocolate tartelettes Ø 5.3 cm, 24 pieces
Rectangular tartelettes, 5.3 x 2.6 cm, 30 pieces
So it turns out perfectly every time
Both work. The sugar dough has more sugar and less butter: more stable, easier to line, firmer after baking. The shortcrust pastry melts more finely on the tongue but is more of a hassle to line. If you're unsure, go with the sugar dough.
80 g butter · 120 g granulated sugar · 50 g whole egg · 200 g White flour · ¼ tsp vanilla seeds
80 g butter · 120 g granulated sugar · 50 g whole egg · 180 g White flour · 20 g Cocoa powder · ¼ tsp vanilla seeds
130 g butter · 70 g icing sugar · 30 g whole egg · 180 g White flour · 20 g Cocoa powder · ¼ tsp vanilla seeds
Mix Fondant with flower paste, shape it with the flower Embosser, brush it with Powder paint — this makes the flower look more three-dimensional. Using edible glue and a Cooking tweezer, place 2–3 Sugar pearls in the calyx. Also lovely: leftover Ganache piped as a dot with a fine Piping nozzle, or tempered couverture set with a splash of rum, whisky or kirsch and piped as an edge decoration.
Frequently asked questions
It was too hot. Above 40 °C the Soft melting fondant turns dull, and that can no longer be fixed. That's why you use the Thermometer.
In a Cake box at room temperature for up to a month. They're best fresh.
It's too cold or has been kneaded too long. Knead it briefly by hand until it's smooth.
Print recipe
Choose what should appear on the printout.
Related products
Felchlin Couverture Grand Cru Maracaibo 65 % 0.5 kg
Sugar Pearls Gold Small 65 g
Rolling pin set 6 pieces
Blind baking balls, 600g
Progel gel color Bright Green, 25 g
Melting fondant (liquid fondant), 1.20 kg
White flour, 1 kg
Insertion thermometer digital
Piping bag holder white, Ø 19.5 cm
Tartelettes Ø 3.8 cm, 40 pieces
Tartelettes Ø 5.3 cm, 24 pieces
Tartelettes Ø 7 cm, 12 pieces
Chocolate tartelettes Ø 5.3 cm, 24 pieces
Tartelettes rectangular, 5.3 x 2.6 cm, 30 pieces
Bourbon vanilla seeds, 5 g
Disposable piping bag transparent 20 pieces
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Comments
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ein Genuss
By: Marianne F. On 2025-02-11Das Carac-Rezept ist ein Genuss! Der Teig und die schokoladige Füllung harmonieren perfekt. Einfach köstlich!
Replied by: Thomas Ramseier On 2025-02-11
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