The chocolate and hazelnut tart is a tart that is truly delicious with an irresistible filling that melts in your mouth. If you love chocolate desserts like the Nutella ecstasy cake or the ricotta and cocoa cake, you should definitely not miss it.
I believe there are few desserts that give a complete sense of satisfaction when eaten… among them, there is certainly the chocolate tart: the aroma of butter in the pastry, the enveloping taste of chocolate, the crunchiness of toasted hazelnuts. These are all things that make the chocolate and hazelnut tart a true masterpiece for our palate.
Today I’ll introduce you to this fantastic recipe, which we really liked. It’s a perfect dessert for any occasion, ideal for a snack, a dinner with friends, or simply when you want to indulge in a guilty pleasure.
I made this tart using a classic cocoa butter shortcrust pastry, and for the filling, I chose as main ingredients ricotta, melted dark chocolate, one of my favorite ingredients in desserts, to which I also added a couple of tablespoons of hazelnut spread to make it even more inviting.
The recipe for this chocolate and hazelnut tart is very simple and doesn’t require any special precautions other than preparing the shortcrust pastry in advance because, like all butter pastries, it needs a bit of rest in the refrigerator. However, you can also make this tart with white shortcrust pastry or oil shortcrust pastry.
That said, let’s get to the recipe and see how to make this delicious chocolate tart, but first, I’ll leave you some other links you might find interesting.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 1 Hour
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 8 people
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 607.18 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 67.13 (g) of which sugars 34.64 (g)
- Proteins 12.72 (g)
- Fat 33.93 (g) of which saturated 17.30 (g)of which unsaturated 12.57 (g)
- Fibers 4.37 (g)
- Sodium 54.59 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 151 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients to make the chocolate tart
- 2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup butter (cold)
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 3 tbsps unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 egg
- 1 packet vanillin (or seeds from a vanilla pod or 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract)
- 1 cup ricotta (well drained)
- 3 1/2 oz 50% dark chocolate (melted)
- 2 tbsps hazelnut spread
- 2/5 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 2/3 cup whole hazelnuts (toasted)
- as needed hazelnut crumbs
Tools
- Tart pans 9-10 inches
- Bowl
- Knives
- Fluted wheel
- Rolling pin
Steps to make the chocolate and hazelnut tart
Let’s see the recipe for this chocolate and hazelnut tart together. I recommend taking out the eggs in advance, as they should be used at room temperature. The butter, however, should be used cold.
The preparation of this shortcrust pastry is very simple. You can make it by hand or with any kitchen robot you have available.
Put all the ingredients together and work them until the ingredients are well combined. If you make it by hand, remember that even for this shortcrust pastry, the general rule is to work it as little as possible to avoid warming it too much.
As soon as the ingredients are combined, create a smooth dough, wrap it in some plastic wrap, and let the cocoa shortcrust pastry rest in the fridge for at least an hour.
In the meantime, prepare the filling.
Chop the dark chocolate coarsely with a knife, place it in a bowl, and melt it in a double boiler or microwave.
Then let it cool slightly.
In a bowl, place the well-drained ricotta. The one from the day before will be perfect.
Add the sugar and vanillin.
Add the melted and slightly cooled dark chocolate.
Add the egg to the bowl, along with the other ingredients.
Gently mix with a spatula until all the ingredients are homogeneously combined.
You should get a creamy mixture.
Add the 2 tablespoons of hazelnut spread and mix again.
Toast the whole peeled hazelnuts for 10 minutes at 300°F and let them cool.
Then coarsely chop them with a knife.
Add the chopped hazelnuts to the filling and mix again.
The filling is ready. Set it aside and move on to rolling out the shortcrust pastry.
Take the dough from the refrigerator and roll it out on a sheet of parchment paper to a thickness of about 1/8 inch. To make it easier, I recommend using tart pans with a removable bottom. If you don’t have one, line the bottom of the tart pan or dish you are using with a circle of parchment paper cut to the size of the base. This will make it easier to remove the tart once it’s ready.
Line the pan with the shortcrust pastry and trim the edges with a knife. Set aside the leftover pastry.
Once the shell in the pan is complete, prick the bottom with a fork.
Pour the filling into the pastry shell.
Use a spatula to distribute the filling inside the tart and level the surface.
Knead the scraps again and roll them into a sort of rectangle.
Use a fluted wheel to create strips about 1/2 inch wide.
Place them on the filling and trim the excess from the edges.
I created 6 strips, but if you want, you can make more or fewer.
Knead the pastry scraps again.
Create a long rope and place it along the edges of the tart.
Sprinkle the surface of the tart, especially in the “diamonds” of the filling, with hazelnut crumbs.
Once ready, put it in the fridge for 30 minutes and preheat the oven to 340°F fan.
When the oven reaches temperature, bake your chocolate and hazelnut tart for about 30 minutes. In the last 5 minutes of baking, place the tart on the lowest rack of the oven to ensure the bottom cooks perfectly. Once ready, let it cool completely before removing it from the pan.
Storage, tips, variations
– The chocolate and hazelnut tart can be stored for a couple of days. Since it contains ricotta, I recommend putting it in the fridge and taking it out about an hour before consuming it to bring it back to room temperature.
– You can substitute hazelnuts with other nuts of your choice.
– The dark chocolate in the filling can be replaced with the same amount of milk chocolate. You can also skip the dark chocolate and only use hazelnut spread, adding a total of 150 g to the filling.
– You can substitute ricotta with mascarpone.
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
How can I prevent the tart base from becoming soggy due to the filling’s moisture?
To prevent the base of the tart from becoming too moist, you can sprinkle the bottom with crumbled biscuits before adding the filling, which will help absorb the filling’s moisture. Alternatively, you can brush the bottom with melted chocolate and wait for it to harden before adding the filling. Additionally, it’s always good to bake the tart on the lowest rack of the oven in the last minutes of baking.
Can the tart be made in advance?
Yes, absolutely! You can prepare both the shortcrust pastry and the filling even a day ahead. Just keep everything in the fridge and assemble it the next day. You can also make and bake the tart the day before; with resting, the chocolate and hazelnut tart becomes even tastier!
