PASTRY
150 g unsalted butter, cubed
100 g brown sugar
30 g hazelnut meal
1 whole egg
260 g plain flour
½ tsp salt
½ tsp baking powder
plain flour, for dusting
HAZELNUT BAKED CREAM
1 ½ whole eggs
50 g caster sugar
35 g hazelnut meal
25 g lightly roasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped
HAZELNUT CARAMEL
36 g good quality gold chocolate (caramel) 30%
36 g honey
120 ml fresh cream 35% fat
1 orange, zested
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
36 g liquid glucose
½ tsp sea salt
96 g caster sugar
72 g roasted hazelnut, finely chopped
PASTRY
- Arrange 16 egg rings, 75mm in diameter and 10mm in height, onto a lined baking tray.
- Place the butter into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat until smooth.
- Add in the brown sugar, hazelnut meal and egg. Mix until combined.
- Sieve in the flour, salt and baking powder. Continue to mix until the ingredients come together as a dough.
- Press the dough into an even, flat square and wrap it in plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator for approximately 30 minutes.
- Heat the oven to 170˚C, fan forced.
- Lightly dust the workbench with flour and roll the dough out until it is approximately 3mm in thickness. Cut 16 discs out of the dough using a 95mm round cutter.
- Transfer the pastry discs into the egg rings.
- Line the pastry with baking paper and fill with uncooked rice.
- Bake in the pre-heated oven for 10 minutes.
- Remove the rice and baking paper. Set aside at room temperature until required.
HAZELNUT BAKED CREAM
- Heat the oven to 165˚C, fan forced.
- Place the egg, sugar and hazelnut meal in a bowl and mix to combine.
- Fold through the roughly chopped hazelnuts.
- Spoon the mixture into the prepared tart shells, until each shell is half full.
- Bake in the pre-heated oven for 10-12 minutes, until light golden brown in colour.
HAZELNUT CARAMEL
- Place the gold chocolate into a bowl.
- Place the honey, cream, orange zest, vanilla, glucose and salt into a saucepan and bring to the boil.
- Once boiled, strain the cream mixture through a sieve into a bowl. Set aside and keep warm.
- Place the sugar into a wide-based saucepan over medium heat. Stir gently with a spatula until completely dissolved and caramelised before removing from the heat.
- Add the warm cream mixture to the caramel and mix to combine.
- Return the saucepan to the stovetop and cook over low heat for 1 minute.
- Pour the caramel over the gold chocolate and stir until the chocolate has completely melted and incorporated into the caramel.
- Add in the finely chopped hazelnuts and mix to combine.
- Spread the caramel over the hazelnut baked cream layer of the tarts.
NOTE: The caramel can be made a day in advance. Cover the caramel with plastic wrap touching the surface and set aside at room temperature until required. To use the caramel at a soft consistency, simply microwave in short increments until it reaches a scoopable consistency.