This Chocolate Hazelnut Tart is a chocolate, hazelnut, or Nutella lover’s dream. A delicious, crunchy homemade hazelnut crust is paired with a smooth, creamy chocolate Nutella ganache filling. The tart is rich, decadent and satisfies any chocolate craving.
The dream-team
You will absolutely, 100% love this tart. It really is insanely delicious. I don’t think I will be able to top myself anymore. The shortcrust is made with toasted hazelnuts and lots of butter, and tastes unbelievably good when baked. And when it’s cooled, you’ll pour in a chocolate Nutella ganache, which sets in the fridge for a couple of hours and gets smooth and creamy. Finally, you can top it with some more toasted hazelnuts and some sea salt. And you won’t be able to stop – but I recommend you do because it is very filling and you’ll want some for the next day, too.
I must confess something. I love chocolate and hazelnuts together sooooo much. And I know that it isn’t just me. I mean, what makes Nutella so good? It’s got chocolate and hazelnuts in it. Boom.
Chocolate and hazelnuts really are the dream-team. But not just any chocolate – in my opinion, it has to be darker chocolate. Milk chocolate with hazelnuts is okay, but swap the milk chocolate for dark … too good to be true.
In this recipe, you can use any hazelnut spread, but I do think Nutella is the best way you can go.
My old French teacher had a serious Nutella addiction. So much so that my class and I gave her almost 2.5 kg of Nutella for her farewell. She told us once that she blindly had to taste-test different hazelnut chocolate spreads – but without even tasting the Nutella, she could pinpoint the correct jar by the smell only. I achieve to reach such a level of Nutella passion.
That is why I am dedicating this recipe to her. She is a wonderful person, a fantastic French teacher, and made me love languages more ( … and Nutella, too). C’était trop cool with you, and I miss you! 🙂
The chocolate
In this recipe, I used a mixture of dark chocolate. As pictured below, I used an almost 70% dark chocolate, and I mixed in some 50% chocolate too. Depending on how decadent and rich you want your tart filling to be, you can use only dark or only a “light” dark chocolate.
When I recipe-tested, I first when for an only 80% chocolate. Combined with the Nutella and heavy cream, the final filling was really rich, and even I struggled to eat it (I like rich desserts, but only in small portions or with the option to have more if I need/want). The second time I made it, I went for an only 70% chocolate Nutella ganache, and that was still rather rich – it would be perfect though if eating a light supper. The third time I totally nailed it: half 50% chocolate, half 70%. This was my personal fave – but doing only 50% is delicious too!
I brought this Chocolate Hazelnut Tart to school for the teachers – and they totally loved it. I don’t think I have ever experienced so much raving about one of my recipes … And it’s super touching that some people even wanted the recipe before I posted it. Originally, I was going to post it for Valentine’s day and World Nutella Day in February, but I have a feeling a few of you might want to make this for New Year’s Eve. What better way to end 2020 than with this Chocolate Hazelnut Tart 🙂
The hazelnuts
The hazelnuts are really the star of the show too. As I said, they’re in the Nutella which is in the ganache filling (star number 1), but then of course you’ll use the real hazelnuts for the hazelnut crust (star number 2). To get that beautiful hazelnut-flavor, you’re going to start by roasting your chopped hazelnuts.
To do this, you’ll spread the chopped hazelnuts on a baking tray and bake at 150°C (300°F – see recipe notes) for around 10 minutes. Your kitchen will smell crazy delicious when you pull the tray out the oven.
If you’d like, you can take the skins off (pour all the hazelnuts into a kitchen towel, twist the ends together, and rub), but I like the flavor, so I leave them on. Plus, it saves time. And patience is hard when making this tart, trust me.
Then you’ll put some of the hazelnuts aside, and keep the rest for the crust.
Making the hazelnut crust
The dough
The crust is so easy to make and really doesn’t need to much time.
Begin by greasing a fluted 9-inch (24 cm) tart pan (possibly with a removable bottom). I use butter and a kitchen paper towel to really get into the edges too. It’s super important to grease everything! Then you’ll sprinkle about 1-2 teaspoons of flour into the pan, and carefully shake and wiggle it around, making sure to coat everything with flour. Pour out any excess.
After roasting the hazelnuts, you’ll grind them in a food processor together with the flour, sugar and salt, until the mixture is sandy and fine.
Next, you’ll throw in the cold butter cubes and pulse a few times. You definitely want pieces of butter remaining! And then you’ll gradually pour in ice-cold water in tablespoon-intervals until the dough comes together.
To finish, you’ll carefully push the dough into the pan and spread out evenly with your hands or the backside of a glass. It helps to flour your hands/the glass.
Baking
You’ll bake the tart in two goes. First, you’ll bake with pie weights or rice, and then the second time without. Details are written in the recipe! 🙂
First, you’ll prick the dough a few times with a fork.
On top of the crust, you’ll place a piece of parchment paper. I find it easiest to scrunch up a new sheet, and then spread it out again and place on the unbaked crust. Then you’ll pour the pie weights/rice onto the paper, and bake the tart at 175°C (350°F) for about 20 minutes.
Then you’ll carefully lift out the parchment paper, and bake for another 10-20 minutes at the same temperature.
Be sure to take the hazelnut crust out of the oven when it has browned and is somewhat hard to the touch.
If you are using a tart pan with a removable bottom, I advise you to remove the side after the tart has cooled for about 10 minutes in the pan. If you don’t have a removable bottom, leave the tart to cool in the pan.
When the crust has fully cooled, you can fill it with the ganache.
The ganache filling
The ganache filling is awesome and worth every calorie. It really is simple, too, and could be enjoyed on its own … maybe as a summer fruit dip? … 🙂
- Chop the chocolate and put into a heat proof bowl. It helps using chocolate that is as finely chopped as possible – if you can, try grating it.
- Pour the Nutella on top of the chocolate. Don’t stir yet.
- Heat the heavy cream in a medium-sized pot, stirring the whole time. As soon as it slightly boils, pour it onto the bowl with the chocolate and Nutella. Let stand for about 1-2 minutes, and then stir vigorously with a silicone spatula to melt the chocolate and Nutella.
If it looks like the ganache isn’t coming together when stirring, just keep on stirring, and suddenly the mixture will turn into this glorious, silky smooth pudding. If your cream was too cold, your ganache might split. Aurelia from Philosophy of Yum (a fellow South African) has a great post about ganache with lots of helpful points – it’s totally worth a read. I’ll link it right here.
Assembly
To finish the tart, you’ll pour the freshly made ganache into the baked hazelnut crust. It really helps if the ganache is still slightly warm, because it’s more spreadable then! Lightly bang the tart pan on your kitchen counter to get rid of air bubbles, and use a toothpick to pop any big holes.
Sprinkle on the reserved hazelnut stash. I would wait with sprinkling on the salt, because it just sinks into the ganache and looks a bit funny.
Then you’ll cool the tart for a few hours or overnight, sprinkle on the salt, and enjoy.
It definitely helps using a warm knife to cut the tart. And clean the knife after each cut!
I hope you’ll enjoy this Chocolate Hazelnut Tart as much as I do. Please leave me a comment when you make it and don’t forget to rate the recipe! 🙂 And do tag me on Instagram – I so love it when I see your creations! 🙂
I wish you all the best for 2021!
Joelle xx
You might also like …
- The Brown Butter Nutella Chocolate Chip Cookies – make with or without the Nutella, they’re delicious either way!
- This delicious Plum Hazelnut Frangipane Tart – use frozen plums in winter!
Chocolate Hazelnut Tart
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cool Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 8 slices 1x
- Category: Pies & Tarts
- Method: Baking
Description
A delicious, crunchy homemade hazelnut crust is paired with a smooth, creamy chocolate Nutella ganache filling. The tart is rich, decadent, and satisfies any chocolate craving.
Ingredients
Hazelnut Crust
- 130 g hazelnuts, chopped
- 130 g flour
- 25 g caster sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 125 g butter, cold
- 2–3 tbsp ice-cold water
Chocolate Nutella Ganache
- 250 ml of heavy cream
- 250 g dark chocolate (around 50-70%, see recipe notes)
- 280 g Nutella
Instructions
Hazelnut Crust
- Preheat oven to 150°C (300°F), non-fan-assisted. Spread the chopped hazelnuts on a small baking tray lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Toast the hazelnuts for about 6-10 minutes, until darkened and they smell deliciously nutty. Cool for about five minutes in the pan.
- Whilst the nuts are toasting, grease a 9-inch (24 cm) round tart pan and sprinkle some flour into it. Don’t forget to grease and flour the sides too! There should be a very fine layer of flour covering the whole pan, so the crust comes out without sticking.
- Reserve 30 g of the toasted hazelnuts. Put the remaining 100 g in a food processor together with the flour, sugar, and salt. Pulse until the mixture resembles coarse, dry sand.
- Cut the butter into walnut-sized cubes, and add into the food processor. Pulse a few times, carefully, until pea-sized dough-chunks form. Immediately stop pulsing.
- Next, pour in 2-3 tablespoons of ice-cold water. Start with one tablespoon, pulse 2-3 times, and add another tablespoon. If the dough doesn’t stick together yet, add some more water.
Go sparingly, as the hazelnut crust shouldn’t be too wet! - When big chunks remain, take the dough out of the food processor, and knead a few times by hand. Carefully press the dough into the prepared tart pan, making sure the crust is as even and as tight as possible. Use the bottom of a measuring cup coated in flour and/or floured hands to press the dough down evenly. Prick the crust with a fork a couple of times.
- Turn the oven up to 175°C (350°F). Next, scrunch up a sheet of parchment paper, spread it out again, and lay it onto the prepared, unbaked tart crust. Pour pie weights or rice onto the paper.
- Bake for around 20 minutes, and take the tart out of the oven. Lift out the parchment paper with the pie weights, and bake further for 10-20 minutes until golden brown.
- Let the crust cool in the tart pan for around 10 minutes, then remove the sides, if using a tart pan with a removeable bottom. (If you are using a glass dish, leave the crust in to cool.)
- Let cool in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour, or even overnight, until ready to fill.
Chocolate Nutella Ganache Filling
- Chop the chocolate and put it into a heatproof bowl. Add in the Nutella.
- In a medium-sized pot, heat the cream until it starts to boil. Pour into the bowl of chocolate and let stand for 2-4 minutes.
- Using a spatula, stir until the chocolate Nutella ganache comes together (it takes around 1-2 minutes of stirring until the ganache thickens).
- As soon as the ganache has come together, pour it into the cooled hazelnut crust, and spread evenly.
- Sprinkle the remaining hazelnuts on top. Put in fridge until ready to serve (at least 1-2 hours or overnight).
- Before serving, sprinkle on some flaky sea salt.
Notes
- I like using a mixture of 50% dark chocolate and 70% dark chocolate (ratio about 1:2 or even 1:1). The darker the chocolate, the richer the filling.
- If desired, you can decorate the whole tart with chopped hazelnuts. I recommend chopping up approx. 180 g hazelnuts. That way, you have 100 g for the crust, and 80 g for decorating.
- If you have any troubles with the ganache filling, give this post from Aurelia a read. She shares some fantastic tips!
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