Chocolate, Cardamom and Hazelnut Tart

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Serves: 8-10

This tart is a wonderful example of how great quality chocolate can be elevated into a really special dessert. I love to serve it with fresh raspberries, which cut through its richness. This works beautifully for a celebratory meal or virtual dinner party.

For the hazelnut pastry

What You’ll Need:

  • 50g blanched hazelnuts
  • 200g spelt flour (I used 100g wholegrain and 100g white)
  • 20g icing sugar
  • Pinch of salt
  • 90g chilled butter, cubed
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1-2 tbsp iced water

For the filling

  • 100ml milk
  • 10 cardamom pods, bashed
  • 130g dark chocolate
  • 50g milk chocolate
  • 240g crème fraiche
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp ground cardamom

What To Do:

  • Prepare a 20cm, loose-bottomed tart tin. To make the pastry, blitz the hazelnuts in a food processor, until coarsely chopped. Add in the flours, sugar and salt and pulse again to mix.
  • Slide in the butter and blitz to a breadcrumb consistency. Add in the egg yolk and one tablespoon of the iced water and pulse to bind, adding the rest of the water if you need to, to bring the dough together.
  • Once it’s sticking together, but not feeling sticky, tip it out onto a work surface and bring it together into a smooth ball. Press down to a disc and then, between sheets of baking paper, because it will be very short and crumbly, roll it out to a circle that’s bigger than your tart tin and about the thickness of a pound coin.
  • Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes to one hour.
  • Heat the oven to 170 fan. Put the bashed cardamom pods into the milk and bring to just below the boil on a medium heat, then remove from the heat and allow to cool and infuse.
  • Take the pastry out of the fridge and run your hands over the baking paper to warm it up a little bit, as the butter will have stiffened in the fridge – you want it pliable. Use a rolling pin to transfer the pastry to the tart tin, then line it, patching up any tears, and prick the base with a fork.
  • Line with one of the pieces of baking paper you used to roll it out, fill it with baking beans and blind bake for 15 minutes. Then remove the paper and beans and bake for another ten minutes. Remove from the oven and turn the heat down to 150c.
  • To make the filling, set up a bain marie with a couple of inches of water in a pan over a medium heat. Break your chocolate into a metal or glass bowl and place it over the pan, so that the bottom isn’t touching the water. Melt the chocolate together, stirring. Take it off the heat when it’s 2/3rds melted and stir to finish the melting. Allow to cool for a few minutes.
  • Strain the milk into the crème fraiche and whisk to combine, then stir this through the melted chocolate. Crack in the eggs, pour in the remaining cardamom and whisk together to form a smooth custard. Pour this into the tart case and bake for 22-25 minutes, until set but still with a very slight wobble.
  • Allow to cool, then chill in the fridge for a couple of hours. Slice and serve with raspberries.

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