Hazelnut and chestnut purée tart

November 15, 2019

The recipe below is an adaptation of a hazelnut and chestnut tart from the restaurant “Tre Galline” in Turin. I have made some modifications over time to make it more to my own liking.

For the pastry:

  • 200 g of flour 
  • 3 tablespoons of fine sugar 
  • 100 g of cold butter, diced
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tablespoon of cold water

For the tart filling:

  • 200-250 g of sweetened chestnut purée (chestnut spread or cream, you can buy it ready made)
  • 3 eggs (yolks and whites separated)
  • 120 g of hazelnut flour (toast and grind the hazelnuts until you obtain a sandy consistency)
  • a handful of hazelnuts, coarsely chopped
  • 120 g of fine sugar

 Start with preparing the dough by rubbing in with your fingers all the ingredients and kneading the pastry until well combined. Form a bowl, cover it in cling film and leave in the fridge to rest for a minimum of 30 minutes.

Grease a round baking tray of 23 cm in diameter and 3-4 cm in hight with butter.

Take the pastry from the fridge and roll it out. Place it in the tin and gently press the dough onto the bottom and inside of the baking dish. Trim the edges by rolling a rolling pin over the tart tin. Prick the bottom with a fork, line the dish with baking parchment and fill with dry beans or ceramic balls (this process will prevent the pastry from rising).

Place  the baking tin in a preheated oven to 180 C and bake blind for 10-15 minutes.

Take it out and leave to cool.

Prepare the hazelnut filling.

In a large bowl whisk the egg yolks and the sugar until pale. Now add the hazelnut flour and mix all together.

In a separate bowl whisk the egg whites until they start to form soft peaks. Gradually add the whisked egg whites into the hazelnut mixture and gently fold them in.

Evenly spread the chestnut purée onto the tart base and even out the surface.

Now pour the hazelnut mixture over the chestnut purée. Gently even out the surface.

Scatter the chopped hazelnuts over the tart and bake in a preheated oven to 180 C for 35-40 minutes until the surface of the tart turns golden-brown in colour (be careful not to burn it).

Serve the tart either warm or at room temperature sprinkling it with icing sugar. A scoop of a vanilla ice cream adds the perfect last touch to it.