Ok so a Nutella ganache cooked on the stovetop in a matter of minutes and poured into a toasted hazelnut crust. It’s rich, but not quite as rich as you would guess. Who am I kidding, the ingredients are heavy cream and Nutella. It’s exactly as rich as you would guess. While this is essentially a foolproof recipe (I swear it’s easy), I have a bunch of step shots for you so you can understand exactly what you’re doing with both the crust and the filling. I’ll put all of the step shots below the recipe since there’s quite a few. But here’s what you need to know right now:
All of the filling’s flavor comes from Nutella. I was tempted to put chopped up chocolate in the filling as well, but didn’t want anything—even plain chocolate—to take away from Nutella’s own chocolate flavor. You’ll only need 5 ingredients for the Nutella filling. And they’re all basic ingredients like cream, cornstarch, Nutella, vanilla, and salt. The crust is wonderfully crunchy and a delightful complement to the smooth Nutella filling it holds. Where are all my texture loving friends out there? This dessert is for us. Taking a few minutes to toast the chopped hazelnuts beforehand intensifies their flavor, which clearly pairs well with chocolate hazelnut spread! Make the crust in your food processor. Just wait until you smell everything coming together. Those toasted hazelnuts are unbelievably dreamy. You don’t need to bake the filling! Just spread it inside the pre-baked crust and refrigerate. Since this recipe sets up in the fridge, your oven is clear for other Thanksgiving pies. We all really need this!
Also: make ahead recipe alert! Since this tart sets up in the refrigerator—and tastes best cold—you can essentially make it days in advance and let it hang out in the fridge until you need to serve it. You’ll love that! Have leftover Nutella? Try my Nutella brownies or Nutella crinkle cookies next! This recipe is part of Sally’s Pie Week, an annual tradition where I share a handful of new recipes that fit into the pie/crisp/tart category. Join the community below! The crust is made from hazelnuts, flour, a little sugar, salt, cold water, and cold butter. Remember the cardinal rule for making pie/tart crust from scratch? Cold is best. The chopped hazelnuts are toasted before you mix them with the other ingredients. And by “mixing” I’m referring to your food processor. You want to break down those hazelnuts into a crumb-like texture, pulsing them with a few of the other crust ingredients as well as the butter. Transfer the crust dough to a large mixing bowl, then slowly mix in ice cold water. You’ll only need about 2-3 Tablespoons, no more. It will still be a little sandy, but that’s ok. It will come together when you press it into the pan. The next step is to pre-bake the crust. You’ll need a 9-inch tart pan. Here is the tart pan I own and love, if you don’t have one yet! If you ever want to make my spiced pumpkin tart or lemon blueberry tart, you’ll need one. You can also make small individual tarts if you’d like. See my recipe note above. 🙂 To press the crust into the tart pan, use a floured flat-bottomed measuring cup. This is the best trick I learned! You can really pack the crust down and around the edges, especially if you keep your measuring cup floured. Perfect! Bake the crust for about 20 minutes. You’ll need pie weights (or dried beans!) for this step.The reason? The added weight on the dough ensures that the crust holds its shape, does not shrink down, and remains firmly planted in the pan. As the crust cools, begin the Nutella filling. This is the easiest part! Combine all of the filling ingredients except for the vanilla extract. Whisk and bring to a boil. Stir in the vanilla. There, you’re done. Spread into the crust and put the refrigerator to work! A few hours later, dig in.
