recipe: chocolate praline tart

with a layer of hazelnut praline and a pretty excellent chocolate praline custard

What I’m reading: the latest recipe on Rosie Kellett’s The Late Plate, which I am a big fan of (and dying to make these cookies)

What I’m listening to: Darina Allen on the BBC’s Food Programme

What I’m eating: fried chicken with little sesame buns and slaw I made for staff food this week (below)

This recipe is another one that’s handy to have in your back pocket for the in-between seasons when there’s nothing exciting available (at least locally sourced) in fruit or veg. It’s a chocolate praline tart, with an almondy sweet pastry, a layer of hazelnut praline and a layer of baked chocolate praline custard. It’s relatively foolproof for a tart: the chocolate in the custard helps it to set more easily, so you don’t necessarily need a thermometer: you can just judge the set by the jiggle.

With tarts like this, I’m in two minds about how to serve it. I think the texture of the pastry (crisp, buttery) and custard (smooth, just-set) is best when served ambient, i.e. when left to cool for 2-4 hours at room temp. However, it is much easier to get a perfect slice when you chill the tart for a few hours (or overnight in the fridge). The trade-off is that the pastry is a little less crisp, and the flavours of the custard are a little muted. It’s dealer’s choice - if you’re serving this at a casual dinner or are in a rush, I think ambient is the way to go, but if you want to impress (or take lots of photos), chill it overnight before serving.

To make this tart, there’s a few elements that you need to make ahead, so I recommend making this over two days. On the first day, make the pastry, let it chill, and line the tart tins. Also on the first day, make the praline, so that it can set fully overnight (at room temp is fine but in a sealed container). The next day, you’ll blind bake the tart tin, and while that’s baking, blitz the praline into a paste, and use some of this to make the custard. The assembly is pretty easy, but I definitely recommend pouring the custard into the tart when it’s already in the oven, so you can fill it up as much as possible, and not risk spilling any while transferring to the oven.

recipe: chocolate praline tart