Tarte Pralinee aux Noisettes

Nutrition · per serving

Steps

1. 1

   Preheat the oven to 190C. Lightly grease a 12-14 cm tart ring or small tart tin. In a bowl, rub the flour, icing sugar, salt, and cold butter together until the texture resembles fine crumbs. Add the egg yolk and cold water, then bring the dough together quickly without overworking it. Flatten into a disc.

   90 g plain flour25 g icing sugar1 pinch fine salt45 g cold unsalted butter, diced1 egg yolk10 ml cold water
2. 2

   Roll the pastry between two sheets of baking paper to about 3 mm thick, then line the tart ring or tin. Press well into the corners for clean sides and trim the top. Chill or freeze for 10 minutes so the shell holds its shape in the oven.

3. 3

   Line the cold pastry shell with baking paper and fill with baking weights. Blind-bake for 12 minutes, then remove the paper and weights and bake for 6-8 minutes more until evenly golden and dry to the touch. Cool completely before filling.

4. 4

   While the shell bakes, toast the hazelnuts in the oven for about 8 minutes until fragrant. Tip them into a towel and rub off most of the skins. For better flavour, do not worry if a few skins remain.

   70 g hazelnuts
5. 5

   Make a dry caramel by heating the caster sugar with the water in a small saucepan over medium heat until it turns a deep amber. Swirl the pan rather than stirring once the syrup starts colouring. Immediately add the toasted hazelnuts, stir to coat, then pour onto baking paper to cool hard.

   45 g caster sugar10 ml water70 g hazelnuts
6. 6

   Break the cooled praline into pieces. Set aside 10 g for garnish, then blend the remainder to a paste. First it will become crumbs, then clump, and finally turn into a smooth, oily praline paste; scrape down the bowl as needed.

   10 g crushed praline or chopped toasted hazelnuts60 g praline paste from above
7. 7

   Whip the double cream with the mascarpone and vanilla extract to soft peaks. Fold in the praline paste until fully combined and smooth. The cream should be thick enough to hold swoops but still look silky.

   120 ml double cream40 g mascarpone3 ml vanilla extract60 g praline paste from above
8. 8

   Melt the dark chocolate gently, then brush or spread a very thin layer over the cooled tart shell to help keep the pastry crisp. Let it set for 2-3 minutes.

   15 g dark chocolate
9. 9

   Spoon or pipe the praline cream into the tart shell and level or swirl the top decoratively. Chill for 10 minutes to firm slightly, then finish with the reserved crushed praline or chopped toasted hazelnuts. Slice and serve.

   15 g dark chocolate10 g crushed praline or chopped toasted hazelnuts

Origin & History

Praline in France traditionally refers to nuts coated in caramelized sugar, a confection strongly associated with classic French pastry. Tarts filled with nut praline creams are a modern patisserie-style dessert that combines pate sucree technique with the deep roasted flavour of hazelnut praline.