Rustic dark chocolate and hazelnut tart

Ingredients

Short crust pastry

• 1+1/3 cups (170 g) pastry flour
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) (115 g) soft unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp (115 g) superfine granulated sugar
• 3.5 medium (55 g) egg yolks, room temperature
• 1 tsp (4 g) baking powder
• 1/4 tsp (2.5 g) salt
• 1 g vanilla powder

Dark chocolate pastry cream

• 2/3 cup + 1.5 tsp (170 g) whole fat milk
• 4 tbsp (50 g) whipping cream
• 3.5 small (40 g) egg yolks
• 2 tbsp + 2 tsp (40 g) superfine granulated sugar
• 2 tbsp (15 g) corn starch (Maizena)
• 2 oz (55 g) dark chocolate 70 %, Guanaja Valrhona
• A pinch of salt

Crunchy layer

• 2 oz (50 g) dark chocolate 70 %, Guanaja Valrhona
• 18 g crêpes dentelle

Extra

• 1 whole egg, lightly beaten
• Finely chopped hazelnuts
• Chopped hazelnuts

Instructions

Short crust pastry

I suggest to use a kitchen scale.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with paddle attachment, place butter with sugar and vanilla and knead until you get a creamy mixture.

Gradually add egg yolks and knead until completely incorporated.

Then, add sifted flour with baking and salt.

Mix until combined.

With your hands, shape the dough into a ball and divide into 2 equal parts.

Flatten the dough and refrigerate for about 15 minutes.

Between 2 sheets of baking paper, roll out the dough 5 mm thick and refrigerate overnight.

Dark chocolate pastry cream

Prepare the pastry cream, mixing egg yolks, sugar, corn starch and salt.

Heat the milk with cream over medium heat and bring it to a simmer.

Pour over the egg mixture and mix to combine.

Heat the custard base, over medium heat, while whisking vigorously until it starts to thicken and is cooked through.

Add the chopped chocolate and stir until completely melted and incorporated.

Pour the pastry cream into a bowl, cover the surface with plastic wrap, making sure the plastic wrap is touching the whole surface and refrigerate for 12 hours.

To assemble and baking

Heat fan oven at 311F - 155°C.

With a whisk, soften pastry cream and pour it in a pastry bag with a 11 mm nozzle.

Take the dough discs out from the refrigerator and pipe a custard spiral over a dough disc, leaving 1 inch from the edge.

With water, moisten the edges of the dough disc, place the second dough disc and with your fingers press to seal.

With a buttered 7 inches - 18 cm pastry ring, press with your hands to cut out the excess of dough, leaving the cake inside the ring.

Brush the surface with a whole egg and with a skewer, pierce here and there the surface of the tart.

Dust with chopped hazelnuts and bake for 32/33 minutes.

Let completely cool inside the ring before removing from the mould.

Crunchy layer

Melt the chocolate, add the crêpes dentelle and with a spatula, mix to combine.

To assemble and to serve

With a small spatula, cover all the side of the tart with the crunchy layer.

Let set at room temperature.

Enjoy!