Photo: Natalie Levin
Although as a girl I didn’t like nuts at all (to say the least) – today it’s one of my favorite ingredients to use in my recipes. Nuts are such a great addition to cakes and desserts and most of the time also stand by themselves as a tasty and healthy snack (I always have a small bag of almonds and nuts in my bag).
Hazelnut tart is one of my favorites, especially with caramel. The combination of hazelnuts and crispy, golden crust is such a classic – tasty and suitable for any occasion. This next recipe is one of the most delicious tarts I’ve ever made – hazelnut caramel tart with chocolate. It’s made of a buttery golden crust that’s filled with hazelnut cream dotted with some chocolate, all topped with luscious caramel and a lot of roasted hazelnuts on top.
Photo: Natalie Levin
Hazelnut Caramel Tart with Chocolate
For short crust pastry:
- 150 grams all-purpose flour
- 100 grams cold butter (cut into cubes)
- 40 grams icing sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 egg yolk
- 1-2 tbsp. cold water (as needed)
For hazelnut cream:
- 100 grams hazelnuts
- 75 grams cold butter cut into cubes
- 75 grams light brown sugar
- 40 grams hazelnut praline paste
- ½ tsp. salt
- 30 grams all-purpose flour
- 1 large egg
- 30 ml. milk
- 100 grams chocolate (coarsely chopped)
For caramel filling:
- 40 grams corn syrup
- 200 grams sugar
- 100 ml. heavy cream
- 3 grams fine sea salt
- 125 grams soft butter
For decoration:
- 100-200 grams roasted hazelnuts (halved)
- Edible gold leaf (optional)
Crust:
- In a food processor with a steel blade put flour, butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and salt and process until mixture is crumbly.
- Add egg yolk and continue to process just until large clumps of dough form. If the dough is not setting, gradually add a little water.
- Transfer the dough chunks on a lightly floured work surface and form a disc-shape with your hands.
- Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about an hour.
- Roll out the dough on a floured work surface about 3-4 mm thick and line the pie pan. It is important to create a right angle between the sides and the base of the crust, which will ensure the edges remain high when baking.
- Pierce the bottom of the crust with a fork. Freeze the crust for about an hour.
- Preheat oven to 170c degrees.
- Blind baking: put a sheet of heat-resistant plastic wrap or baking paper on the frozen crust and fill with dry beans or special weights for baking.
- Bake for about 12-14 minutes.
- Remove the weighs and continue to bake the crust for 5-10 minutes until it turns light golden.
Hazelnut cream:
- In a food processor with steel blade place hazelnuts, butter, sugar, praline paste, salt and flour and blend until crumbly mixture is obtained.
- Add egg and milk and continue to blend until thick cream forms.
- Pour the cream over the baked crust and flatten it with a spatula in an even layer.
- Sprinkle with chopped chocolate.
- Return the tart to the oven for another 10-15 minutes until the cream turns golden and sets.
Caramel filling:
- In a large skillet put corn syrup and sugar and heat over high heat, stirring constantly, until golden caramel forms.
- Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, heat cream and salt to a simmer.
- When caramel is ready, cautiously and gradually add the cream mixture while stirring until smooth.
- Continue to cook the caramel over medium heat until it reaches a temperature of 122-124c degrees.
- Add in the butter and mix well until it is absorbed in the mixture.
- Remove from heat and pour the hot caramel mixture over the baked hazelnut cream.
- Allow setting completely at room temperature for 2-3 hours.
- Decorate with hazelnuts and edible gold leaf.
- The tart is at its best on the day of preparation, but you can keep it in a closed container in the refrigerator up to 5-6 days.
- You can use any type of nuts you like instead of hazelnuts.
- It’s important to serve the tart at room temperature rather than cold.
- You can use milk or dark chocolate.
- Edible gold leaf can be obtained here (affiliate).
Photo: Natalie Levin
Photo: Natalie Levin