Hazelnut Meringue Tartlets

Dough:

1. Grind the hazelnuts (also the same for the filling). Beat the butter and sugar with the paddle of the hand mixer for at least 5 minutes until whitish-creamy. Then add the egg and briefly break it again. Mix the flour, 100 g hazelnuts, cinnamon and salt and gradually knead into the butter mixture with the dough hook of the hand mixer until a crumbly dough is formed. Then knead it with your hands on the non-floured work surface until it is smooth and elastic. Shape it into a roll with a diameter of approx. 4 cm, wrap it in cling film and put it in the refrigerator overnight.
2. On the next day, prepare 18 muffin tins, namely: If it is a muffin tray with hollows, lightly grease them and stick 2 narrow strips of parchment paper crosswise. These must protrude at least 1 cm over the edge on both sides. So you can later easily lift the finished tartlets out of the troughs. With a silicone mat, just grease the hollows. Hold ready.

Filling:

1. Do not chop 3,200 g nuts too finely, grind 100 g finely (see dough). Chop the chocolate in the same way as the nuts. Then mix everything together and have it ready.
2. Beat the egg whites with salt and tartar baking powder. When it starts to set, gradually add the sifted powdered sugar and keep beating. When it is completely used up, continue beating for at least 3 minutes until the mixture shines and the tips stop when you pull out the whisk. Then gradually fold in the chocolate and nut mixture until everything is well combined. Then place in the refrigerator until use.
3. Preheat the oven to 200 ° O / bottom heat. Remove the foil from the rolling pin and cut it into 18 x 1 cm thick slices. Roll out each slice on a lightly floured (so-called “baker’s starch”) work surface around 11.5 – 12 cm (see also tip for filling the molds at the end of the recipe), carefully place the plates in a well and line them with it. The upper edge of the dough can easily protrude over the edge of the mold and it can also be a little wavy and uneven. Lightly press the dough inside the hollows. Prepare all 18 molds in this way.
4. Then fill the chilled meringue and nut filling into the dough wells up to approx. 1 cm below the rim. Lightly tap the muffin tray or the silicone mat a few times on the work surface to smooth out and distribute the filling and place it in the oven from below on the 2 shelf rails. The baking time is 12 – 15 minutes. When the filling has risen high and is firm on top and the edge of the pastry is baked until golden brown, then the tartlets can cool off in the oven and in the mold. A wooden stick test is not possible here.
5. These tartlets are a mixture of crispy, soft and nutty-chocolaty …………. so “addictive” ………..;.)))

Tip for the molds and laying out the dough:

1. The hollows of my muffin tin had a diameter of 5 cm at the bottom, 7 cm at the top and a depth of 2.5 cm. For the measure for rolling out the round dough sheets, take the measure of the depth x 2 plus the diameter of the base. So here 10 cm. If you want the dough to protrude a little over it, add about 1 – 2 cm, depending on how much the edge should protrude over it. Use this “formula” for larger muffin tins and calculate the dimensions.