Dark Chocolate Truffle Tart
This tart is the type of dessert that chocolate lovers dream about. The
rich, creamy filling is the perfect counterpoint to the crunchy pastry shell.
Once you serve this to your friends they will beg you to share the recipe.
Makes One 9 1/2-inch round tart, 12 to 14 servings.
Pastry shell:
1 cup raw hazelnuts
1 cup all purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled, cut into small pieces
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Filling:
8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
3/4 cup whipping cream
3 tablespoons Frangelico or other hazelnut liqueur
Garnish:
1/4 cup toasted and skinned hazelnuts (from above)
1 tablespoon sugar
Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 350F (175C). Place the hazelnuts
on a jelly roll pan and toast in the oven for 15 minutes, until the skins
are split and the nuts are golden colored. Remove from the oven and cool
on a rack for 10 minutes. Raise the oven temperature to 375F (190C). Rub
the nuts between your hands or in a kitchen towel to remove most of the
skins. Reserve 1/4 cup toasted hazelnuts for garnish.
In the work bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, combine
the flour, sugar, 3/4 cup of the toasted hazelnuts, salt, butter, cinnamon,
and vanilla. Pulse the mixture until it just forms a ball, 1 to 2 minutes.
Pat the mixture evenly into the bottom and up the sides of the tart pan.
Pierce the bottom of the shell lightly in a few places and freeze the shell
for 15 minutes.
Place the tart pan on a jelly roll pan and bake the shell in the preheated
oven for 20 minutes, until set and lightly browned. Remove from the oven
and cool on a rack.
For the filling, melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler over hot,
not simmering water, stirring frequently with a rubber spatula to ensure
even melting. In a separate small saucepan over medium heat, heat the cream
to a boil. Remove both pans from the heat, remove the pan from the water
of the double boiler and wipe it dry. Pour the hot cream into the chocolate
and stir together until thoroughly blended and smooth, then stir in the
Frangelico. Stir the chocolate mixture for 5 minutes to cool, then pour
it through a strainer into the tart shell. Shake the pan gently, if necessary,
to spread the chocolate evenly in the shell and to eliminate any air bubbles
in the chocolate.
Refrigerate the tart for 3 to 4 hours, until the filling is set. Remove
the tart from the refrigerator 45 minutes before serving so the truffle
filling will soften to the correct consistency.
For the garnish, place the remaining toasted hazelnuts and the sugar in
the work bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse until
the nuts are finely ground, about 1 minute. Sprinkle the top of the tart
with the ground hazelnuts.
The tart will keep for up to 3 days tightly covered with plastic wrap in
the refrigerator.