Tasty and Indulgent Chocolate Hazelnut Tart
This chocolate hazelnut tart recipe makes one large tart that serves around 10 people. The recipe can easily be tweaked and turned into chocolate hazelnut pie, or even chocolate hazelnut cookies.
Equipment
- 10-inch (25cm) cake pan or tart pan with removable bottom. Sides only need to be around an inch high.
- Food processor for chopping the hazelnuts (optionally can be done with a knife)
- Large 12-inch (30cm) mixing bowl with deep sizes around 6-8 inches.
- Microwave and small microwavable bowl (for melting the chocolate)
Ingredients
For the biscuit base
- 10.5 oz. 300 grams of crushed digestive biscuits (or similar)
- 1 tablespoon of all purpose flour
- 4.5 oz. 125 grams of unsalted butter
- 1 fl. oz. 30 ml of sweet sherry (optional)
- Pinch of salt
- 3.5 oz. 100 grams of 80% cocoa dark chocolate
For the chocolate hazelnut tart filling
- 7 oz. 200 grams of shelled hazelnuts
- 10.5 oz. 300 grams 80% cocoa dark chocolate, broken up into small chunks
- 4.5 oz. 125 grams of unsalted butter
- 5 oz. 140 grams confectioners sugar
- Finely grated zest of 1 orange
- 2 large eggs
- 1 Tablespoon of flour
- 3 Tablespoons of sweet sherry
Instructions
- For the hazelnut tart crust
- Crush the biscuits and add to a large bowl with the melted butter and salt. Mix well until the mixture begins to ball.
- Slowly add the sherry (if using) and flour and keep mixing until all ingredients are mixed well. You should have small balls of mixed ingredients. If the mixture is a little wet, add a touch more flour.
- Add mixture evenly to the cake pan and use a glass to smooth out and press the mixture into the pan. If you're using a ridged edge tart pan, press a little of the mixture into the edges to form a nice crust.
- Optional: Melt 3.5 oz (100 grams) of dark chocolate in a microwavable dish. Add to the microwave for 1 minute and stir every minute until the chocolate is liquid. Once liquid, drizzle the chocolate in small swirls over the base mixture.
- Cover the base with a plate and add to the fridge for an hour to set.
- For the chocolate and hazelnut filling
- Preheat oven to 340°F (170°C).
- Add the hazelnuts to a food processor and pulse for a minute or two until most are chopped fine. Leave a few nuts slightly more chunky.
- In a large bowl, add the sugar, melted butter and orange zest together and whip until slightly fluffy. You should have gooey peaks that quickly fall back into the mixture when you remove the spoon.
- Next, add one egg, a little flour and some of the sherry and continue to stir thoroughly. Add the second egg and a touch more flour and stir through.
- Melt the chocolate in the microwave and while waiting gradually fold in the crushed hazelnuts. Add the remaining sherry and mix through. The mixture will be dark in color and have a thick consistency that levels in the bowl. If the mixture is too thick, add a dash of water.
- Remove biscuit base from the fridge and gently spoon the mixture into the base. It should level out by itself, or use a spoon to create an even layer of filling. Don’t worry if your mixture is lower than the tart base lip, it will expand and fluff up slightly while baking.
- Put in the oven and bake at 340°F (170°C) for 30 minutes.
- Once baked, remove from the oven and allow to cool before dusting with confectioners sugar.