The Christmas tart with hazelnut cream is a very delicious dessert for Christmas, a crunchy shell filled with a delicious and fragrant hazelnut cream, decorated with many cookies, hazelnuts, and red currants that not only add a touch of color but also bring a lot of Christmas cheer.
The Christmas tart is a perfect dessert for those who do not like leavened products like the classic pandoro and panettone, and it is excellent as an after-meal treat that can be served both on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
The recipe, even though it requires a few cooking steps before and after, is very simple, and the decoration with many hazelnuts and chocolate-covered stars is also very cute.
If you like the recipe, take inspiration from it, perhaps customizing it according to your tastes.
Also check out these recipes:
Collection of my Christmas desserts
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 20 Minutes
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 6 -8 servings
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients for the Christmas Tart with Hazelnut Cream
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 7 tbsps butter
- 1 egg (large)
- 2/3 cup sugar
- Half tsp baking powder
- 1 cup milk
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 2 tbsps starch
- 1 egg (medium)
- 1/4 cup hazelnut paste
- 1/4 cup white chocolate
- as needed red currants
- as needed whole hazelnuts
- as needed hazelnut crumbs
Tools
- Bowl
- Rolling Pin
- Pan tart 9-10 inches
- Cookie Cutter cookies
- Oven
- Saucepan
- Whisk
- Stovetop
- Bowl
Preparation for the Christmas Tart with Hazelnut Cream
To prepare the tart, start with the base by making the shortcrust pastry first.
You can make the dough by hand or with a simple kitchen robot or stand mixer.In the stand mixer bowl, put the sugar with the slightly soft butter pieces, and mix the ingredients for a few minutes using speed 2, then add the egg, followed by the sifted flour and baking powder.
Work the dough quickly and mix the ingredients well. Pour it onto a work surface, compact the dough by hand, form a ball, and let it rest in the fridge for about 15-20 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the hazelnut pastry cream.
Weigh the ingredients and proceed following this recipe here:
hazelnut pastry cream.
After preparing it, pour it into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap.Returning to the Christmas tart, take the dough from the fridge, roll out the pastry with the help of a rolling pin on a sheet of parchment paper into a disc about 0.4 inches thick. Place the pastry inside the mold, trim the excess edges, and prick the bottom with the prongs of a fork.
BAKING
Place a sheet of parchment paper and fill with beans or chickpeas to blind bake the pastry.
Bake the pastry for about 20 minutes at 392°F in a preheated ventilated oven.
Roll out the excess dough and with some cookie cutters make cookies in star shapes of different sizes.Place the cookies inside a baking tray.
After 20 minutes, remove the tart shell from the oven, which should be golden brown.
Bake the cookies in the oven at 356°F for about 10 minutes.Now fill the tart shell with hazelnut pastry cream, leveling it well with the back of a spoon.
Once the cookies are baked, put the filled tart back in the oven for another 5-8 minutes at 356°F with ventilation.Melt the white chocolate in a bain-marie, dip some cookies, and let the chocolate set.
Remove the tart from the oven, decorate it with the cookies, hazelnuts, crumbs, and currant sprigs.
Let it cool before serving.
Tips and Variations
The Christmas tart can also be filled with lemon pastry cream or cocoa and chocolate pastry cream.
The shortcrust pastry tart keeps fresh for about 2 days.
The Christmas tart can also be filled with lemon pastry cream or cocoa and chocolate pastry cream.
The shortcrust pastry tart keeps fresh for about 2 days.
