Chocolate hazelnut tart

When it comes to dessert, chocolate and hazelnut has got to be one of the best combination. This recipe was inspired by our love for a german style chocolate cake, but we were, at the same time, craving for some buttery, flaky shortcrust pastry over the weekend. It is extremely simple to make and doesn't take much time at all.

As for the pastry, instead of using our standard recipe, Jamie Oliver's sweet shortcrust pastry which we love, we decided to go for a much sweeter pastry, as the filling itself has a lot less sugar than many of our other desserts. Angela Hartnett's recipe for shortcrust pastry is deliciously sweet and rich with more eggs than we would otherwise use. We added vinegar to make the pastry more flaky. Recipe below makes about 10 individual tarts.

INGREDIENTS

For the pastry

150g flour

A small pinch of salt

75g cold butter, cubed

75g caster sugar

2 egg yolks, lightly beaten

1 – 2 Tbsp vinegar

For the filling

150ml double cream

300g dark chocolate (70%)

150g ground hazelnut

75g caster sugar

DIRECTION

1. Prepare the pastry. Throughout this step, try to work the dough with your fingers only (avoid using your palm which may melt the butter). In a mixing bowl, mix flour, salt and sugar. Add and rub in cubed butter until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolks and mix well using fingertips only. Add vinegar and bring the dough together. Wrap in clingfilm and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

2. While the dough is chilling, prepare the filling. In a mixing bowl, break the chocolate into pieces. Heat the double cream in a saucepan over low to medium heat. Remove from heat just before it boils. Pour the double cream over the dark chocolate. Let sit for about 5 minutes or until the chocolate is melted. Add hazelnut and sugar. Mix well.

3. Preheat the oven to 180C.

4. Roll the dough out thinly and line 10 – 12 small tart shells with the pastry. Prick the bottom with a fork. Fill the pastry case with the chocolate/ hazelnut mixture.

5. Bake in the pre-heated oven for 25 - 35 minutes, or until the pastry is golden in colour.

6. Serve warm with creme fraiche.