Okay, so this is totally late to be of any help in Valentine's Day planning, but I've decided that my chocolate-hazelnut tart should have posting priority. As I mentioned before, I hosted a dinner party last night. Not only did I host one of my husband's foreign colleagues, he's French, so I felt just a little obligated to provide something amazing so he didn't think all Americans eat spaghetti and garlic bread every night.
So I made a lovely roast chicken with two vegetables, some appetizers (including a chicken liver pate that he was really impressed with). But there was the problem of dessert. After my Saturday's splurge of a homemade brownie, I realized that my taste buds have finally changed and I can no longer tolerate even normal sweets that I used to eat before eliminating refined sugar. But I needed something.
The combination of chocolate and hazelnuts is classic, and one of my favorites. I could make a tart shell with no flour, eliminating the need to find sprouted flour, and the Nourished Kitchen's timely post about organic chocolate revealed that my favorite brand of chocolate, Rapunzel, is very traditional-food-friendly. This was amazing served with a big dollop of local cream whipped to stiff peaks without any sweetener.
Chocolate Hazelnut Tart
1-1/2 cup roasted whole hazelnuts, plus probably another 1/2/-3/4 cup for scattering
1 stick butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup arrowroot powder
heavy pinch of salt
2 Tbsp. Rapadura
1 egg yolk
6 oz. very dark chocolate (I used Rapunzel 70% dark)
5 oz. heavy cream
seeds of one vanilla bean, or a half teaspoon of vanilla bean paste
First make the shell. Preheat the oven for 325 degrees and butter a 10" springform pan. Grind 1-1/2 cups roasted hazelnuts in the food processor until it's as fine as you can manage. Add the arrowroot, salt, and Rapadura, and combine, then add butter and egg yolk and pulse until a dough forms. Press into the bottom of the pan, and about 1" up the sides, and bake for 1/2 an hour, or until slightly brown. Cool completely.
Melt the chocolate into the cream with the vanilla over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until it is glossy and smooth. Pour into shell and spread to an even layer. Scatter a couple handfuls of whole hazelnuts over the top of the chocolate. Allow to set at room temperature for a few hours until set. Serve in narrow wedges with plenty of whipped cream.
2 comments:
This sounds wonderful. Where do you get your whole hazelnuts?
The natural foods store has them in the bulk section. After yesterday's assignment, I feel I should say that hazelnuts slip out of their skins very easily after they're roasted.
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