Chocolate Hazelnut Tart

Today we had our first snow storm of the season here in the Midwest! We got somewhere between 6 to 10 inches of snow. To my husband that meant lots of shoveling. To my children it meant lots of fun playing outside and making a snowman or two. To me it meant catching up on cooking for my Blog and Betty Crocker!

Since I had lots of Nutella and hazelnuts leftover from an assignment I worked on for Betty Crocker yesterday, I decided to use them to make something special for my abandoned Blog!! I have to apologize for being so absent. Well, as you may know, my number one job is being a mom. I am at home with my kids and that alone is taking SO much of time!! On the weekends I am busy working on recipe assignments for Betty Crocker and Pillsbury. My husband has been traveling a lot too which also impacts on how I administer my time. Anyway, bare with me as I find the balance between it all!

Back to the recipe. This tart is made for chocolate and hazelnut lovers. Rich and full of different textures, this is a dessert worth including on your Christmas dinner menu! The crispy crust has ground hazelnuts. For the filling, a layer of creamy Nutella and crunchy hazelnuts topped with an airy and rich chocolate mousse!

The crust can be made one day in advance. The filling is easy to put together and can be made in the morning when you can also put the tart together. Keep it in the refrigerator until it is time to serve!




To make the crust you will need skinless toasted hazelnuts:

You will need to grind them:

To the ground nuts, add flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Set it aside.

Beat together butter and sugar until pale yellow and creamy.

Add one egg:

Now add the dry ingredients and vanilla and mix at low speed.

Until a dough forms:

Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

After dough is chilled, dust countertop with flour and roll out dough into an 11-inch disk:

Transfer to greased quick pan and use hands to press dough into bottom and sides of the pan:

Poke bottom with a fork. Freeze raw crust for 15 minutes. Place it over a baking sheet. Bake for about 20 minutes at 350F until firm.

Meanwhile make the mousse. Use a double boiler to melt chocolate. Add a little coffee to the chocolate. Let it cool at room temp.

Beat whipped cream with sugar and vanilla. Soft peaks.

Mix chocolate and whipped cream gently and careful not to over mix it. I did over mix mine today so my mousse turned out a bit grainy. The secret is not to over beat the whipped cream with the mixer and not over mix when adding the chocolate.

To put the tart together, spread Nutella over the baked crust.

Now top that with chopped hazelnuts.

Finally spread the mousse over the nuts.

I was planning on covering my tart with fresh raspberries and dusting them with confectioner's sugar. BUT there was a snow storm today so I decided not to drive to the store to buy raspberries. Instead I topped each slice with whipped cream and fresh cherries that I had in the refrigerator.

 Chocolate Hazelnut Tart

Crust
1/3 hazelnuts, finely ground
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1 pinch salt
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup superfine sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
Use a food processor to grind the hazelnuts. In a medium bowl mix together the ground hazelnuts, flour, cocoa powder and salt. Set it aside.

In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and sugar at medium-high speed until creamy and pale yellow. Add the egg and beat until well incorporated (1 to 2 minutes). With the mixer on low speed, add vanilla and dry ingredients and beat until a dough forms. The dough will release from the sides of the bowl and will not be sticky. It should be easy to form a ball with dough. Wrap dough ball with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Over a countertop dusted with flour, roll chilled dough into and 11-inch disk (use a rolling pin). Transfer dough to a greased 10-inch round quiche pan with removable bottom (it is ok if dough breaks during transfer). With your fingers press the dough into the bottom and sides of the pan. Pierce the bottom with a fork and place in the freezer for 15 minutes or refrigerator for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350. Remove tart from freezer or refrigerator and place it on a baking sheet. Bake it for approximately 20 minutes or until crust is cooked - it will look dry and feel firm. The tart will get crispy as it cools. Allow crust to cool completely. You may cook crust in advance and keep it in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours (well wrapped).

Chocolate Mousse
8 ounces dark chocolate, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon brewed coffee (optional - may be omitted or substituted for your favorite liqueur or brandy)
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream, very cold
1/4 cup confectioner's sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions
Use a double boiler to melt chocolate. Stir in the coffee and set it aside to cool to room temperature.

Add heavy cream, sugar and vanilla to the bowl of a mixer and beat it together until soft peaks form. Don't over beat the cream!! Set it aside to reach room temperature.

Add about 1/2 cup of the whipped cream to the melted chocolate and mix it together with a spatula. Continue to incorporate the remaining whipped cream into the chocolate gently being careful not to over mix the mixture so the cream won't become grainy.


Other
2/3 cup Nutella
1/2 cup roughly chopped hazelnuts


To put together the dessert, spread the Nutella over the baked tart crust. Top it with chopped hazelnuts and follow with the chocolate mousse. You may top the tart with chocolate shavings, fresh raspberries (and a dust of confectioner's sugar!) or whipped cream and fresh fruit (I used cherries).