Macadamia chocolate tart

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 160 g wheat flour, e.g. type 405 or 550
• 90 g butter, chilled, in pieces
• 60 g almond(s), grated
• 1 pinch of salt
• 4 tbsp sugar
• 1 egg(s), size M, chilled
• 2 tbsp water, cold
• 1 bottle of vanilla flavor
• 250 g chocolate coating, 59%
• 100 g dark chocolate, 90%
• 320 ml whipped cream
• 2 bags of macadamia nuts, roasted and salted

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Rest time approx. 7 hours 20 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 30 minutes; Total time approx. 8 hours 20 minutes

for a 28 – 30 cm tart tin

Before you begin, you should check whether the pre-salted and roasted macadamia nuts are too salty for your liking. If this is the case, wash the nuts and gently rub them dry between paper towels, leaving them whole and spherical, rather than falling apart. Personally, I really like the salty note of the nuts to complement the sweetness of the tart. Make a shortcrust pastry by mixing the flour, ground almonds, sugar, and well-chilled butter pieces together (preferably in a food processor) until you have small, homogeneous crumbs. Then add the egg, water, salt, and vanilla extract and process with the food processor until you have a ball. Once it has a smooth consistency, stop the process. Do not overmix, or the dough will overheat. Remove the dough, form a ball, wrap it in plastic wrap, and chill it in the refrigerator for 40 minutes. Roll out the chilled dough between cling film to the required size and place in a 28 cm tart tin. Blind bake the shortcrust pastry by forking lots of holes in the base, covering it with baking paper and then filling the baking paper with dried peas. Then bake in a preheated oven at 160 °C fan/convection oven or 180 °C top/bottom heat for 20 minutes. Remove the peas and baking paper and bake for another 5 – 10 minutes, baking for a little longer if necessary. Then leave the base to cool in the tart tin for approx. 40 minutes, or in the fridge if necessary. For the topping, chop the chocolate coating and dark chocolate into small pieces and place in a bowl. Gently bring the cream to a boil, pour over the chocolate, wait a minute and then slowly whisk until smooth. Pour the ganache onto the cooled tart base and scatter the macadamia nuts on top, making sure they’re half submerged in the ganache. Then refrigerate the tart for six hours until the ganache has set. Note: You can certainly try this with other nuts, such as hazelnuts. Personally, I prefer macadamia nuts, the queen of nuts, but as always, that’s a matter of taste.