Chocolate Nut Tart (Crostata di cioccolata con nocciote)

This tart is divine and really impresses when I have to bring a dessert to a function. 

Chocolate Nut Tart (Crostata di cioccolata con nocciote)

Ingredients
  

Ingredients for pastry
  • 1 3/4 Cups flour
  • pinch of salt
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 115 grams butter or margarine chilled
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 teaspoon grated lemon zest
  • Up to 2 tablespoons of water
Ingredients for tart
  • 200 g dry amaretti biscuits
  • 50 g blanched hazelnuts
  • 100 g ground almonds
  • 3 tablespoons of sugar
  • 200 grams plain cooking chocolate
  • 3 tablespoons milk
  • 50 grams butter
  • 3 tablespoons liqueur amaretto or brandy is recommended, but I use Baileys
  • 2 tablespoons single cream
  • 8 blanched almonds halved

Method
 

Instructions for pastry
  1. Mix flour, salt and sugar in bowl
  2. Chop butter into the dry ingredients as quickly as possible until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs
  3. Beat egg and lemon zest in a cup.
  4. Pour over the flour mixture.
  5. Combine with a fork until the dough holds together.
  6. If too crumbly, mix in 1-2 tablespoons of water.
  7. Divide in two.
  8. Cover in cling wrap and refrigerate for at least 40 minutes
Instructions for tart
  1. Preheat oven to 190º C.
  2. Grind biscuits and hazelnuts to a medium texture in a food processor or blender
  3. Mix ground almonds and sugar in to ground amaretti and nuts. .
  4. Melt chocolate, milk and butter and stir until smooth
  5. Pour into the ground amaretti and nuts.
  6. Mix well.
  7. Add liqueur and cream to mixture.
  8. Lightly grease a shallow 26 cm tart or pie pan, preferably with a removable bottom.
  9. Roll out half the dough to about 3 mm.
  10. Transfer to the pie pan.
  11. Trim edges.
  12. Prick bottom with a fork.
  13. Spread filling evenly in the pastry shell.
  14. Bake for 35 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and filling has puffed up.
  15. cool to room temperature.
  16. Decorate the tart with almond halves

Notes

This makes enough pastry for two tarts. I couldn't find a way to successfully halve the recipe. Freeze the unused half. The pastry also works other tarts, e.g. Tarte Tatin.
Adapted from Carla Capalbo "The Best Ever Italian Cookbook"

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