Aria Chocolate Tart with Hazelnuts Praline

Chocolate galore? Yes, always This recipe has been a constant since it was showcased on the finale of the first edition of Masterchef Australia. It was a beautiful creation from one of Sydney's top restaurant, Matt Moran's Aria, by pastry chef Andrew Honeyset.

It is what we call "an act of all", not because it's impossible, but because it requires time and patience, to follow each step carefully which is very doable, especially given there are no judges watching your every step, questioning your  sanity, and showing you that the clock is ticking.

Good luck!

Ingredients (a lot of chocolate, in any shape or form)

For the Chocolate Pastry

    320g Plain Flour
    60g Cocoa
    160g Caster Sugar
    160g Cold Unsalted Butter - Diced
    2 Eggs
    Pinch of Salt   

For the Chocolate Tart Mixture

    270g Dark Chocolate - Chopped*
    60g Butter - Diced
    315ml Cream
    3 Eggs
    2 Egg Yolks

* The original recipe called for Jivar or Jivara Chocolate, made by Valrhona. We replaced it with Pastiglie Leone Sfumature 80% but any good quality dark chocolate with a high content of cocoa (at least 70%) will be ok.

For the Chocolate Sauce

    60g cocoa
    200ml water
    120g caster sugar
    25g butter, diced

For the Chocolate Glacage

    300g dark chocolate, chopped
    240ml cream
    300ml chocolate sauce

Hazelnuts Praline

    100g Organic Toasted Hazelnuts

Method

Chocolate Pastry
Place the flour, cocoa, sugar, butter and a pinch of salt in the bowl of a food processor and process until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Make sure the butter is cold, otherwise it will melt in the food processor making it a bit harder to work later on. Add the eggs and process until the dough starts to come together. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead until smooth. Flatten into a disc shape: this will make it easier when you will place it into the tart tin. Cling wrap it and place in the fridge for 30 minutes to rest.

Roll out the pastry to about 3mm thick. Line the base and sides of a tart tin (round or rectangular) with the pastry, and trim any excess. Place in the fridge for 15 minutes to rest. Pin the base of the tart with a fork, this way the pastry will be able to "breathe". Line the pastry with baking paper and fill with baking weights, beans or rice. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove paper and weights and bake for a further 5-10 minutes at 180ºC.

Chocolate tart mixture
Place chocolate and butter in a bowl. Place cream in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Pour cream over chocolate in bowl and slowly stir until smooth. Try to incorporate less air as possible. Make sure the mixture is lukewarm before you stir in the eggs.

Pour the chocolate mixture into the tart shell up until about 3/4 full (you'll need to leave enough room for the glacage). Lower the oven to 160° (open it if necessary) and bake for 25 minutes or until the centre has just cooked and the top has just set. Take the tart out of the oven and allow to cool to room temperature before topping with the chocolate glacage. We recommend putting it in the fridge when it has cooled down.

Chocolate Sauce (for the Glacage)
Combine cocoa, water and sugar in a saucepan and stir over heat until sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil, stir in butter until melted and mixed. Strain through a sieve placed over a bowl and set aside.

Chocolate Glacage
Place chocolate in a large bowl. Place cream in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Pour cream over the chocolate in the bowl and stir until smooth. Add in the chocolate sauce that you just made and stir. When the completed tart has cooled, spoon or pour the glacage over the tart and place in fridge until firm.

Hazelnuts Praline
This is our gentle twist to the recipe. Place around 100g of delicious toasted hazelnuts in your mortar and pesto and crush them for few seconds. No need to add any sugar, and make sure to leave some pretty big chunks in there. Sprinkle the hazelnuts all over the cake, or only close to the border.

Make a good cup of coffee, or tea, a glass of whisky or rum and enjoy!

Thanks to Matt Moran and his staff at Aria for this amazing recipe. We adapted the ingredients using Citrus & Candy's Blog.