Crostata di nocciole e caramella

Hazelnut and Caramel Crostata

Decadence in pastry, a tender hazelnut crust holds dark chewy caramel and toasted nuts. If you love caramel and hazelnuts, this is for you. Finished with a drizzle of bittersweet chocolate and accompanied with sweetened whipped cream, this is fine dining at home.

This crust calls for ground hazelnuts. You can grind them yourself, either in a nut grinder or in the food processor fitted with the metal blade. One caveat, however, in the food processor it is easy to overprocess nuts and wind up with nut paste. If you do that, you have gone too far. Make some toast and tea, enjoy your nut paste, and begin again. To prevent overgrinding, place 1 tablespoon of sugar called out in the recipe in the workbowl of the processor along with the nuts, and pulse until ground finely. Works every time.

One of Bart’s biggest gripes about crostate, pies and tarts is soggy bottom crusts. Two techniques here contribute to a fully baked bottom crust. The first is to partially blind bake the shell. Blind baking simply means baking the pastry shell prior to filling it and giving it its final bake. For some recipes the shell is completely baked, and for others, as here, it is partially baked. The classic method calls for pleating a sheet of parchment paper to fit over the crust and filling it with pie weights (small pieces of metal), a pie chain (yes, just like it sounds) or dried beans. Press the weights against the sides of the pastry, and bake at 425 degrees 15 to 18 minutes to partially bake the shell.

I have found that sometimes the partially baked crust sticks to the parchment when I remove it, so I like to use non-stick foil with the non-stick side against the crust to solve this problem. Be sure to cut the parchment or foil long enough to allow you to use the ends as handles to lift the weights from the shell.

The second secret to banishing soggy bottom crusts is to bake crostate, tarts and pies on a preheated pizza stone set on a rack on the lower third of the oven. Yup. It really works.

Notes of caution; lift a tart pan with a removable bottom by the sides only. If you exert pressure on the bottom, even if the pastry is filled and baked, the bottom will lift up. Banish the kids and pets from the kitchen when you make this caramel filling. Kitchen accidents happen in the blink of an eye. The voice of experience speaks.

How to toast nuts:

Place nuts on rimmed baking sheet and toast until fragrant.

Place toasted nuts on lint free kitchen towel, and rub together to loosen as much skin as possible.

How to make pastry:

Place cooled nuts and raw cane sugar in workbowl of processor.

Pulse to grind.

Add remaining dry ingredients and pulse to combine.

Scatter butter over dry ingredients.

Pulse to combine butter.

With processor running, add beaten egg mixture.

Process until mixture clumps.

Turn out of processor and form into 2 disks.

Roll out pastry to fit 9 inch tart pan with removable bottom.

After chilling, fit non-stick foil or parchment paper into pan and fill with pie weights or beans and bake blind for approximately 18 minutes.

Place on rack to cool completely.

How to make caramel filling:

Combine sugar, water and corn syrup in medium sauce pan. In separate pan, melt butter and cream.

Bring to boil and cook until light golden.

Add melted butter and cream.

Combine well.

Add nuts and cook until caramel color.

Pour into cooled shell.

Bake on pizza stone in lower third of oven.

Cool on rack.

Decorate with melted chocolate.

Crostata di nocciole e caramella

For the crust:
This will make enough crust for two 9 inch tarts.

6 ounces (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut in 24 equal size pieces
1 3/4 cups 00 flour
1/4 cup hazelnuts
2 tablespoons raw cane sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon lievito Rebecchi (or 1/4 teaspoon baking powder + 1/2 teaspoon vanilla)
1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk

For the filling:
7 ounces heavy cream
2 ounces (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/4 cup water
scant 1 1/2 cups hazelnuts

For the whipped cream:
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon Frangelico
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

To decorate:
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate

Toast and skin the hazelnuts:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place all nuts on a rimmed baking sheet and toast 8 to 10 minutes, until fragrant, stirring twice. Remove from oven and place in clean, lint free kitchen towel. Gather towel around nuts and rub vigorously to remove as much of the bitter skin as you can. You will never remove all of it. Just do the best you can.

Make the crust:
Place 1/4 cup toasted and skinned hazelnuts and t tablespoon cane sugar in workbowl of processor fitted with metal blade. Pulse until nuts are finely ground. Add flour, salt, lievito (or baking powder) and remaining 1 tablespoon cane sugar, pulse to blend. Distribute butter over flour mixture. Pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Lightly beat egg and egg yolk (and vanilla extract, if using), and with processor running, add egg mixture, processing just until dough begins to clump. Form into 2 disks. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate 30 minutes. You may freeze the second disk, tightly wrapped, for up to 2 months.

Roll crust and blind bake:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Remove crust from refrigerator 5 minutes prior to rolling. Roll dough to fit 9 inch tart pan with removable bottom. Ease dough into tart pan without stretching or pulling. Trim top edge by rolling the pin over it. Place in refrigerator to chill and allow dough to relax 30 minutes before blind baking. Blind bake shell 15 to 18 minutes until light golden. Place on cooling rack. Remove parchment (or foil) and weights. Cool completely.

Decrease oven temperature to 350 degrees.

Make the filling:
Place butter and heavy cream in small saucepan. Melt butter with cream over medium heat. Remove from heat and set aside.

Combine granulated sugar, water and corn syrup in medium saucepan and cook over medium heat until sugar has completely dissolved, stirring occasionally with a heatproof spatula. Increase heat to medium high and continue cooking until mixture thickens and takes on a light golden tone, swirling pan occasionally.

Remove pan from heat and very carefully add melted cream and butter. Mixture will bubble up in the pan and will burn you if it comes in contact with your skin. Stir to combine. Add scant 1 1/2 cups hazelnuts and return pan to burner, cooking mixture over medium-high heat until it turns a light caramel color.

Quickly pour mixture into cooled shell. and spread across surface. Holding tart pan by the sides, place on stone in preheated oven and bake until filling is dark golden and bubbling, about 18 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven, and cool completely on rack.

To decorate:
Melt chocolate and pour into pastry bag fitted with very small tip. Drizzle chocolate back and forth over tart. Allow chocolate to set. Serve with a dollop of softly whipped Frangelico cream.

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