Tarte Aux Noisettes

A perfect afternoon for me is, a book in hand, some cookies (or in this case, a piece of tarte aux noisettes) and a cup of coffee by the side, and my dog napping with her head rests on my laps.

What's your idea of a perfect afternoon? :-)

Tarte Aux Noisettes Recipe
Adapted from タルト 私のとっておき

Ingredients:

Tart crust:
120g butter, at room temperature
80g icing sugar
1/2 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
180g cake flour
40g almond meal

Filling:
60g butter, at room temperature
60g icing sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
30g almond meal
30g hazelnut meal
1/2 tsp salt

Topping:
Toast at 180 deg C for 5 to 8 minutes, coarsely chopped
40g almond
40g hazelnut
20g walnut

Method:

To make half-baked tart crust:
1) In a bowl, whisk flour and almond meal until combine. Set aside.
2) Place butter and icing sugar in a medium bowl. Mix with an electric mixer until combine.
3) Add the egg and vanilla essence into the butter mixture, beat the batter until smooth.
4) Add the flour mixture. Using a rubber spatula, mix the batter until just combine.
5) Shape the dough into a square with 1/2-inch thickness, then wrap it with a piece of cling wrap. Keep in the fridge for at least one hour.
6) Preheat the oven to 180 deg C.
7) Roll the doughs out on a floured surface. Fit dough into 8 oval tartlet pans (length: 11cm, widest width: 6.5cm). Alternatively, you can use a 20cm tart pan.
8) Butter the shiny side of 8 pieces of aluminium foils (the size should be bigger than the pie plates), buttered side down, tightly against the crust and fill with dried beans or pie weights. Put the tartlet pans on a baking tray and bake crusts for 20 minutes. Remove the foils and pie weights, set the crusts aside.

To make filling:
1) In a medium bowl, mix butter and icing sugar with an electric mixer until combine.
2) Add the egg and vanilla essence and mix thoroughly.
3) Add almond meal, hazelnut meal and salt and mix until well blended.

To bake the tartlets:
1) Preheat oven to 180 deg C.
2) Spread the filling onto the tart crusts, sprinkle with chopped nuts. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes.
3) Let the tarts cool for 15 minutes. Sift some icing sugar on top, serve.