I love baking and experimenting with new recipes, and that’s why I regularly make new cakes for my family that disappear in no time.
A few days ago something surprised me…I did a small poll and, to my surprise (or maybe not), when asked “what’s your favorite dessert?” the overwhelming answer was: the tart!!!!
Indeed it’s the simplest dessert there is and yet one of the best. The real trick is the shortcrust pastry which must be crumbly but not too much, and the filling will depend on our tastes: jam of every kind, of course, or in the slightly less diet-conscious version…with Nutella!!!! So what are you waiting for? Let’s make it together, it will be child’s play.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Cooking time: 25 Minutes
- Portions: about 12 pieces
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups Flour
- 3/4 cup Butter (cold)
- 1 whole egg
- 1/2 cup Sugar
- 7 oz Nutella or hazelnut spread
- 1 packet Vanilla powder (vanillin)
- 1 pinch Salt
- 1 tbsp Heavy cream
Preparation
To make the shortcrust pastry, put the flour, vanillin, a pinch of salt and the butter (which must be cold, just taken from the refrigerator) into the mixer (or into a bowl if you mix by hand). If you use a mixer, it’s advisable to use the silicone-coated whisk (butterfly) to avoid warming the dough too much. Work these ingredients until you obtain a sandy, floury-looking mixture.
Add the sugar, then the egg. Mix everything very quickly, working the dough only until you obtain a compact and fairly elastic mass. Form the dough into a ball, wrap it immediately in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least half an hour.
Take the shortcrust pastry out of the refrigerator and remove about two thirds (2/3) of the total dough. Roll it out on a lightly floured work surface to a thickness of about 1/4 inch (approximately 5 mm). Take a baking pan with a diameter of about 8 2/3 inches (approximately 22 cm) and line it with the pastry, trimming any excess dough from the edges with a small knife.
Gently warm the Nutella in the microwave (about 2 minutes) to make it softer and easier to spread. Add the tablespoon of heavy cream to the Nutella and mix well until fully combined. Pour the softened Nutella into the pastry base and spread it evenly.
Now you can decorate the tart as you like, creating the classic lattice with the remaining pastry or using cookie cutters to make small decorations such as circles, hearts, balls or other shapes.
Initial Protected Baking
Gently cover the tart with aluminum foil (this is an important step to prevent the Nutella from drying out too much during the initial baking). Bake in a preheated oven at 356°F (180°C) for about 20 minutes (for a single large tart).
Final Baking and Check
After the initial time, remove the foil and finish baking for another 10 minutes. The tart is done when the pastry turns a light golden color.
Cooling
When baked, remove the tart from the oven and let it cool completely before serving.
Notes
Lately I make the tart in a mini version, using small single-portion molds so I can give them to my son as a school snack, serve them with tea with friends, or have a portion already sized so you don’t overindulge because, as you know, cutting another slice from a big cake is very quick while starting a new, albeit small, one feels a bit more guilty… silly psychological tricks to avoid excess because it’s irresistible! One tip: if you decide to make mini tarts the baking times shorten — no longer 30 minutes like for the whole tart — you should need about half that time, around 15 minutes; however, always check doneness by looking at the pastry which should be slightly golden.
