Recipe: Nuts for Nutella Chocolate Tart

Nuts for Nutella Chocolate Tart

Serves 8 to 10 nutty friends

ingredients:
crust:
1½ cups finely ground chocolate cookie crumbs (not sandwich cookies)
6 tablespoons (¾ stick) unsalted butter, melted (see page 10)

filling:
4 ounces semisweet chocolate
²⁄³ cup heavy whipping cream
¾ cup Nutella (chocolate-hazelnut spread)
to decorate:
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

tools:
Measuring cups and spoons
2 medium bowls
14 by 4-inch rectangular tart pan with removable bottom
Baking sheet
Silicone spatula
Oven mitts
Cooling rack
Cutting board
Serrated knife
Small saucepan
Whisk
Parchment paper
Rectangular stencil, in any design, about length of tart pan
Fine-mesh sieve

1. Before you begin
•   Position an oven rack in the center of the oven, and preheat the oven to 350°F.

2. Make the crust
•    Place the cookie crumbs in 1 of the medium bowls. Pour the melted butter over the crumbs and stir with the spatula until all the crumbs are evenly moistened. Smash any lumps that form.
•    Scrape the mixture into the tart pan and use your clean fingers or the bottom of a measuring cup to press the mixture into a thin, even layer over the bottom of the pan. The excess will mound along the sides. Use your fingers to press this excess up the sides of the pan so that the crust is level with the rim. Set the tart pan on the baking sheet.

3. Bake the crust
•    Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until it is fragrant. It will harden as it cools. Using the oven mitts, transfer to the cooling rack and let cool completely.

4. Make the filling
•    Put the chocolate on the cutting board. Using the serrated knife, chop the chocolate into small pieces (see page 11). Place the chocolate in the other medium bowl. Pour the cream into the small saucepan, place over medium heat, and heat just until it begins to simmer. Turn off the heat. Immediately pour the cream over the chocolate. Let sit for 2 minutes, then whisk gently until blended and smooth. Whisk in the Nutella until smooth (see left photo).
•    Scrape the filling into the cooled tart shell with the clean silicone spatula and smooth the top. Refrigerate for about 1 hour, or until firm.

4. Umold the tart
•    Carefully push the bottom of the tart pan up through the sides. Leave the tart on the bottom of the pan. Set on a piece of parchment paper.

5. Decorate the top
•    Place the stencil on top of the tart. It should be sturdy and have a pattern you like that covers the length of the tart. Place the cocoa powder in the sieve and hold it over the tart. Tap the side of the sieve gently as you slowly move it around the top of the tart (see right photo). Be careful not to tap too hard: You want a fine layer of cocoa, not thick piles that will make your guests cough!  Carefully lift the stencil straight up from the tart, then slowly move it to the side, so you don’t spill any more cocoa powder onto the tart.
—From Baking Kids Love by Sur La Table with Cindy Mushet/Andrews McMeel Publishing