Hazelnut Tartlet by Ludovic Fontalirant

The chef cooks the caramel separately and then adds it to the nuts. Personally, I prefer to use Chef Philippe Conticini’s method, which I detail in this article: homemade almond and hazelnut praline by Philippe Conticini. Use whichever method you prefer.

Rehydrate the gelatine in the water for 15 minutes.

In a small bowl, mix the hazelnut praline and the hazelnut paste together.

In a small saucepan, heat the milk and cream, then off the heat, add the rehydrated gelatine and stir well to dissolve it. Pour over the praline mixture, stir with a spatula, then blend with a hand blender to obtain a smooth, homogeneous preparation.

Pour the hazelnut cremeux into 3 cm (1.2 in) diameter insert moulds (the chef indicates 15 g (0.5 oz) per insert; personally I was not able to fill them that much, even though my inserts had the same diameter). Freeze for 30 minutes. Hazelnut paste is easy to make: simply blend roasted hazelnuts until a smooth paste is obtained. It follows the same principle as praline, except that hazelnut paste contains no sugar. You can substitute hazelnut paste with hazelnut praline if needed.

Mix the praline with all the other ingredients.

Pour over the hazelnut cremeux, then return to the freezer.

Rehydrate the gelatine in the water for 15 minutes.

Make a ganache: melt the white chocolate in a bain-marie until it just begins to melt. Add the hazelnut praline and hazelnut paste.

In a small saucepan, heat the full-fat liquid cream (1). Off the heat, add the rehydrated gelatine.

Pour one third of the cream over the white chocolate and praline mixture and stir to create an emulsion. Then pour in a second third, then a third, to obtain a smooth, homogeneous mixture.

Add the cold full-fat liquid cream (2).

Blend with a hand blender, cover with cling film and set aside in the fridge overnight.

Place the soft butter and icing sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix at low speed. Add the ground almonds and salt and mix again.

Then add the beaten egg and mix with a spatula this time (it will be easier than with the mixer).

Finish with the flour and mix briefly with the mixer until a smooth ball of dough is obtained. Do not overwork the dough. Bring the dough together to form a ball without insisting.

Wrap the dough in cling film, shaping it into a flattened rectangle. Refrigerate for one hour.

Roll the dough out to 2–3 mm thickness using a rolling pin. Cut out 10 cm (3.9 in) diameter discs of dough (for rings that are 7 cm (2.8 in) in diameter).

Line greased 7 cm (2.8 in) rings and refrigerate for at least 6 hours (I do this the day before).

The next day, preheat the oven to 170°C / 340°F.

Once the pastry is well chilled, trim the excess dough with a small knife.

Place a sheet of greaseproof paper over the pastry and fill with baking beads or dried beans to blind bake (normally, if the tart shells have spent the night in the fridge, there is no need for baking beads — the pastry won’t shrink).

Bake for approximately 14 minutes, then leave to cool on a wire rack.

Meanwhile, in the mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the first 3 ingredients and cream together.

Fold in the eggs and mix until a smooth cream is obtained.

After 15 minutes of baking, remove the tartlets from the oven and leave to cool slightly.

Smooth out any imperfections in the pastry with a Microplane grater, then brush the tart shells with a mixture of egg yolk and liquid cream to give them a glossy finish.

Pipe the hazelnut cream into the tart shells, being careful to distribute it evenly and not to overfill, as it will puff up during baking.

Place 3 hazelnuts in each tart shell (if I were to do it again, I would use halved hazelnuts instead).

Bake for 14 minutes, still at 170°C / 340°F.

Once out of the oven, leave the tart shells to cool on a wire rack. Set aside.

Warm the gianduja slightly before mixing with the other ingredients.

Spread approximately 15 g (0.5 oz) per tart shell (I used 10 g (0.4 oz) and it was slightly too much). If you don’t have gianduja and don’t want to make it yourself (though it is incredibly simple), you can replace it with the following mixture: 40 g (1.4 oz) of hazelnut praline and 40 g (1.4 oz) of milk chocolate.

Whisk the hazelnut ganache by hand so it stays soft. Transfer to a piping bag without a nozzle.

Pipe the ganache into 6 cm (2.4 in) diameter half-sphere moulds, spreading it well up the sides for a clean finish.

Add the insert (cremeux/praline), pressing lightly to bring the ganache up the sides, then cover with more ganache. Smooth with a small spatula, cover with cling film and freeze for at least 4 hours.

With the remaining ganache, fill the tart shells and smooth to the level of the edge (personally, I had slightly too much crunch and not much room left for the ganache).

Melt the milk chocolate with the cocoa butter in the microwave. Mix well.

Unmould the whipped ganache domes.

Using a cocktail stick, skewer the frozen domes and dip them into the chocolate coating (work quickly — it sets very fast).

Place on a sheet of greaseproof paper and spread a thin layer of whipped ganache over them with a spatula.

Cover entirely with hazelnut pieces and place each dome on a tart shell.

Set aside in the fridge until ready to serve. Watch the assembly of this incredible hazelnut tart in video on my Instagram account by clicking on the image below!