The Bake-Off is Coming: Decadent Chocolate Hazelnut Tart

CakeSpy Note: OMG! The 46th Annual Pillsbury Bake-Off is coming! Since I so deeply loved attending the 45th Bake-Off, I thought I would get you excited early by sharing some of the finalists' recipes. Narrowed down from zillions of entries, I'll profile some of the 100 finalists--but of course, based on the subject matter of this site, I will focus on sweets! You can follow them by clicking the bakeoff tag below the post to see which ones have been posted so far. Enjoy! 

Generally, I like to make it clear to people that I am CakeSpy, not MathSpy.

However, every now and again I like to riddle with numbers and equations. Here's one that I feel pretty good about:

Flaky pastry + super rich creamy fudgy filling  = deliciously indulgent dessert.

Now, this type of addition makes sense to me. And the delicious result is beautifully illustrated in the form of this Decadent Chocolate Hazelnut Tart, a Bake-Off finalist recipe dreamed up by Marie Bruno of Greensboro, Georgia. 

Seriously. It's got crust. It's got chocolate. It's got hazelnut. What is not to love? Oh, and it only takes 30 minutes to make, and including cooling time, you'll be eating this treat in under 2 hours. YES!

Decadent Chocolate Hazelnut Tart

12 servings - 30 min active time, 1 hr 30 min total time

Ingredients

• 1 Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust, softened as directed on box
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 8 oz semisweet baking chocolate
• 1 cup mascarpone cheese
• 1/2 cup Jif Chocolate Flavored Hazelnut Spread
• 4 egg yolks
• 1 1/4 cups toasted hazelnuts

Procedure

1. Heat oven to 450°F. Unroll pie crust; place in 10-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Press crust firmly against bottom and side of pan; trim edges. Bake 8 to 12 minutes or until light golden brown. Remove from oven to cooling rack. If crust puffs in center, flatten gently with back of wooden spoon. Cool 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in 2-quart saucepan, heat 3/4 cup of the cream over medium heat until bubbles begin to form around sides of pan. DO NOT BOIL. Remove from heat. Stir in chocolate until melted. Stir in 1/4 cup of the mascarpone cheese and 6 tablespoons of the chocolate hazelnut spread until well blended.
3. In small bowl, beat egg yolks with fork. Gradually add about 1/4 of the melted chocolate mixture to the egg yolks, stirring constantly. Stir egg mixture back into the pan of hot chocolate cream. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly for 3 to 5 minutes until mixture begins to thicken; remove from heat. Spread 1/2 cup of the chocolate mixture in bottom of cooled crust. Press 1 cup of the toasted hazelnuts into hot filling. Carefully spoon remaining chocolate filling over nuts. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or until completely cooled.
4. In medium bowl, beat remaining 1 1/4 cups cream with electric mixer on high speed until slightly thickened. Slowly add the remaining 3/4 cup mascapone cheese and the remaining 2 tablespoons chocolate hazelnut spread. Continue beating until stiff peaks form.
5. Pipe or spoon whipped cream mixture over top of cooled tart. Finely chop remaining 1/4 cup hazelnuts; sprinkle over whipped cream. Store covered in refrigerator.

Comments

[The Ninja Baker]

So glad that the Cake Spy will keep us informed of the trail of heavenly sweets she discovers!

Thank you for sharing the recipe to this gorgeous tart =)