After a generous family lunch at my parents’ farm, the pinnacle of Easter Sunday is by far the egg hunt we have with all the kids. They run through the grass upturning everything, screaming with excitement at the mere sight of a shiny-covered chocolate egg. With so many kids, there would be a pint-sized protest if chocolate wasn’t served for dessert (yes more chocolate), and this tart with its chocolate and Nutella filling is a real crowd pleaser.
What you’ll need:
13cm x 36cm loose-bottom rectangle tart tin or a 23cm round loose-bottom tart tin
Double cream to serve
Extra unsweetened cocoa powder for dusting
Chocolate pastry
1 ½ cups (190 grams) plain flour
85 grams icing sugar
3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
½ tsp fine salt
140 grams unsalted butter, cold and cubed
2 egg yolks
1-2 tbsp cold water
Chocolate and hazelnut ganache
300 grams milk chocolate
75 grams dark chocolate
½ cup (130 grams) hazelnut spread, such as Nutella
300 ml cream
Hazelnut praline
1 cup (100 grams) hazelnuts
1 cup (210 grams) castor sugar
¼ cup (60ml water)
½ tsp sea salt flakes
What to do:
For the chocolate pastry, place the flour, sugar, cocoa powder and salt into a food processor and pulse to mix everything together and remove any lumps. Add the butter and process until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs, then add the egg yolks and pulse again. Add the water a little at a time and process until the mixture starts to come together. Turn out the mixture onto a lightly floured bench and knead lightly to form the dough into a flat rough rectangle. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for one hour.
Butter your tart tin then dust it with extra cocoa powder and remove any excess. Roll out the pastry into a rectangle shape. Line the tin with the pastry, trim the edges and refrigerate for an hour or longer.
Preheat your oven to 180°C. Cover the pastry with baking paper, fill with pie weights and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the weights and baking paper and return the tart case to the oven for another 15 minutes until the pastry is dry and cooked through. Remove from the oven and cool in the tin, then unmould onto your serving plate.
For the praline, while the oven is hot, roast the hazelnuts on a tray until lightly browned (about 8 minutes). Remove and place the nuts in a bowl lined with a clean tea towel. Rub the nuts in the towel to remove their skins, then set the nuts aside to cool. Add the sugar and water to a small saucepan over a medium heat and allow the sugar to melt. Without stirring the syrup, turn the heat to high and allow it to bubble until it turns a golden caramel colour, pushing down any sugar crystals with a wet pastry brush. Quickly but carefully add the hazelnuts to the caramel then pour the mixture onto a lightly oiled baking tray. If the baking tray is warm it helps the caramel to spread and become thinner, rather than instantly starting to set. Wait a minute or two before sprinkling the sea salt over the praline to ensure the salt doesn’t melt. Set the praline aside to cool completely, then break it up into small pieces with a mortar and pestle or a rolling pin.
For the Chocolate and Nutella ganache, melt the chocolate with the cream over a double boiler or in the microwave in 30 second bursts until smooth. Add the Nutella to the melted chocolate and stir to combine, then pour into the tart shell. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes until the ganache is set. If the tart is made ahead of time the ganache will be quite firm so leave the tart out at room temperature for about 20 minutes to allow the filling to have a soft, smooth texture.
Top the tart with the hazelnut praline and serve with a dollop of double cream dusted with extra cocoa powder.
Serves 8 to 10
Recipe, photo and styling by Karen McFarlane
