Here’s a chocolate, hazelnut and lemon tart that’s a bit different from the traditional tart you all know. Here, the pâte sucrée is replaced by a streusel and a hazelnut sponge, the chocolate ganache was first frozen in a ring to give it a perfectly even shape, and I added lemon (in the form of a confit and a chantilly). The praline lemon pairing needs no further proof.
I must confess that this is a recipe that came about on the spur of the moment! I had the disc of whipped ganache in my freezer, so I started from that element to build the whole dessert. I made my favourite sponge base (streusel + soft sponge), which you can find in my recipe for the hazelnut and yuzu entremets, the vanilla, hazelnut and caramel Yule log and also the little hazelnut, gianduja and vanilla cakes. In short, a tried and tested recipe.
The lemon confit adds a real touch of zing, but be careful, it’s very powerful; you mustn’t cover the whole tart with this confit, you just need to pipe a large spiral. This will also allow the chocolate ganache disc to bond a little to the soft hazelnut sponge. That’s perhaps the drawback of this dessert and its construction. If you place the ganache disc directly on the sponge, it won’t be attached to the rest. Visually, it’s not a problem, but once on the plate, I find it rather unpleasant to see the ganache come completely away from the rest. That being said, it’s a recipe that was very much appreciated.
Ingredients & method
6 components · Full recipe
Lemon confit (can be made in advance)
Ingredients
- 40 g (1.4 oz) lemon zest
- 60 g (2.1 oz) sugar
- 200 g (7.1 oz) lemon juice
Method
1
Using a peeler, remove the lemon zest, taking care to take only the yellow part and not the pith (the white inner part of the peel).
2
Place the zests in a saucepan of cold water. Bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute. Using a skimmer, remove them and refresh in iced water. Repeat this operation twice (blanching the zests removes the bitterness from the peel).
3
In a saucepan, add the lemon juice, sugar and zests. Simmer uncovered on a very low heat for 50 minutes until the mixture has reduced significantly (about 2–3 tablespoons should remain).
4
Blend hot using a hand blender then store in a jar in the fridge. This is the traditional method. Personally, I’ve never succeeded this way. Here’s how I do it now: I use a microplane grater to remove the zests and blend halfway through cooking.
Chocolate ganache (make the day before)
Ingredients
- 100 g (3.5 oz) dark chocolate
- 50 g (1.8 oz) milk chocolate
- 125 g (4.4 oz) heavy cream
- 25 g (0.9 oz) honey
- 1 vanilla bean
- 0.5 g (0 oz) fleur de sel
- 40 g (1.4 oz) butter
- 6 g (0.2 oz) whole milk
Method
1
In a small saucepan, heat the cream with the vanilla seeds. Add the salt, milk and honey.
2
Meanwhile, break the chocolate into pieces in a tall container (I use a jug).
3
When the liquid reaches 75°C / 167°F, pour it over the chocolate. Blend with a hand blender to obtain a smooth and homogeneous mixture.
4
When the ganache has cooled to about 40°C / 104°F, gradually incorporate the pieces of butter and blend again until the ganache is smooth, taking care not to incorporate any bubbles.
5
Pour into a 16 cm (6.3 in) diameter ring to a maximum height of 2 cm (0.8 in). Cover with cling film and freeze overnight.
Lemon Chantilly (start the day before)
Ingredients
- 150 g (5.3 oz) heavy cream
- 30 g (1.1 oz) mascarpone
- 1 to 2 tablespoons icing sugar
- zest of 1 lemon
Method
1
The day before, zest a lemon and add the zests to a bowl with the heavy cream. Cover with cling film and refrigerate overnight.
2
The next day, place the bowl and the electric whisk beaters in the freezer for at least 15 minutes.
3
Strain the cream through a sieve (to remove the lemon zests) and pour into the bowl along with the mascarpone. Start whisking at medium speed, then when the cream starts to firm up a little, increase the speed. Gradually, the cream will rise and set.
4
Check the consistency from time to time by stopping your whisk. It’s ready when it’s completely set. If you tip the bowl upside down, it shouldn’t fall. Be careful not to over-whip the cream, or you risk getting a greasy cream or even butter. Knowing when to stop is key.
5
Don’t forget to add the icing sugar when the cream is almost whipped.
6
Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a plain 15 mm tip and refrigerate until assembly.
Hazelnut streusel
Ingredients
- 40 g (1.4 oz) butter
- 40 g (1.4 oz) light brown sugar
- 50 g (1.8 oz) toasted hazelnut powder
- 40 g (1.4 oz) flour
- zest of 1 lemon
- 0.5 g (0 oz) fleur de sel
Method
1
In a bowl, mix the softened butter, light brown sugar, sifted flour, hazelnut powder, zest of a lemon and fleur de sel until you obtain a smooth dough ball.
2
Roll the dough to a thickness of 3–4 mm between 2 sheets of baking paper.
3
Refrigerate for half an hour.
4
Preheat the oven to 160°C / 325°F.
5
Cut out a 20 cm (7.9 in) diameter circle. Leave the ring on and bake for 15 minutes.
Hazelnut soft cake
Ingredients
- 50 g (1.8 oz) hazelnut powder
- 30 g (1.1 oz) light brown sugar
- 50 g (1.8 oz) egg
- 11 g (0.4 oz) icing sugar
- 11 g (0.4 oz) heavy cream
- zest of 1 lemon
- 47 g (1.7 oz) butter
- 25 g (0.9 oz) flour
- 2.8 g (0.1 oz) baking powder
- 50 g (1.8 oz) egg whites
- 8.3 g (0.3 oz) light brown sugar
Method
1
While the streusel is baking, prepare the hazelnut soft cake.
2
In a bowl, mix the toasted hazelnut powder, zest of a lemon, light brown sugar, egg, icing sugar and heavy cream.
3
Melt the butter in a saucepan until it turns a hazelnut colour (stirring continuously). The butter is ready when it has a delicious nutty aroma and stops sizzling. Add it still hot to the rest of the ingredients, continuing to mix.
4
Add the sifted flour and baking powder.
5
Whip the 50 g (1.8 oz) of egg whites to stiff peaks with the 8.3 g (0.3 oz) of light brown sugar, then gently fold into the first mixture with a spatula.
6
Pour the batter over the streusel, being careful not to use it all (the cake will rise a little during baking).
7
Bake again for 15 minutes at 180°C / 350°F. Once out of the oven, leave to cool on a rack (leave the ring on).
Assembly
Ingredients
- None
Method
1
Put the lemon confit in a small piping bag or paper cone and pipe the confit over the hazelnut soft cake in a large spiral starting from the centre. There’s no need to use too much as lemon confit is very powerful in flavour.
2
Remove the frozen ganache disc and place it on a rack.
3
It’s best to protect your work surface (however you can). Personally, I spray mine directly in the dishwasher – it’s quite handy.
4
Spray a thin layer of bronze pearlescent spray at a distance of 30–40 cm (15.7 in).
5
Place the ganache disc on the hazelnut soft cake (and the lemon confit), centred.
6
Pipe balls of lemon Chantilly all around.
7
Refrigerate for at least 2 hours until the ganache defrosts. Ideally, take this dessert out 15 minutes before serving so the ganache comes back up to temperature a little.
Gallery
