A twist on the traditional favorite, this recipe takes the delicious nut filling of Baklava and combines it with the irresistible flavors of chocolate and hazelnut in a delicious pastry tart.
Chocolate Baklava Tart
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes
Yield: One 9-inch tart
Ingredients:
- For the tart crust:
- 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3-cup sugar
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 tsp. brandy or cognac
- 2 tbsp. ice water
- 8 tbsp. (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into ¼ inch pieces
- For the filling:
- 3/4 cup walnuts, coarsely ground
- 3/4 cup almonds, coarsely ground
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 cup hazelnut-chocolate spread (like Nutella)
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate pieces
- 1/2 cup honey
Preparation:
To make the crust using a food processor:
- Add flour, sugar, and salt to bowl. Pulse a few times to mix. Add chilled butter pieces and process until crumbly, like sand. Add egg yolk, vanilla, brandy, and 1 tbsp. ice water. Process until dough pulls together and forms a ball. Add additional tbsp. of water if it seems too dry.
- Turn out on to a lightly floured surface and pat into a flat disk. Chill dough while you prepare the filling.
To make the crust by hand:
- In a large mixing bowl, add flour, sugar, and salt. Mix to combine. Add the butter pieces and using two forks or a pastry blender, cut the butter in to the flour. You can also use your hands for this. The mixture should resemble coarse sand. Add egg yolk, vanilla, brandy, and water and mix to incorporate, kneading dough in to a smooth ball.
- Turn out on to a lightly floured surface and pat into a flat disk. Chill dough while you prepare the filling.
For the filling:
- Combine the ground nuts with the sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Combine the chocolate pieces, hazelnut-chocolate spread, and honey together in a microwave safe bowl and microwave in 30-second increments until melted. You can also melt the chocolate in a heat-safe bowl over a saucepan of lightly simmering water. Be sure not to let the boiling water touch the bottom of your bowl. Add the melted chocolate/honey mixture to the nut mixture and mix well.
- Roll the tart crust out on a lightly floured surface to a size slightly larger than your pan. (I used a 9-inch square with a removable bottom but you can substitute a similarly sized spring form pan, round cake pan, or even a pie dish.)
- Lightly grease the pan’s bottom and sides. Your dough should be large enough to overlap the sides a bit. The easiest way to transfer the dough from the counter to the pan is to roll it back on to your rolling pin and then unroll it over the pan.
- Press the dough in to the sides and bottom of the pan.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Spread the nut/chocolate filling into the crust and even the surface with a spatula.
- Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 30 minutes or until the tart crust is a deep golden color.
