Recipe for Hazelnut and Peanut Pastry

The raised dough
In a bowl, dissolve the yeast in lukewarm milk (not hot) with the sugar, and let it sit for 20 minutes. In the mixing bowl, combine the flour and salt, then add the dissolved yeast. Add the egg yolks and begin to knead at low speed. Gradually add the milk. Knead for about 5 minutes at full speed; the dough will start to come together around the hook. Scrape the bottom of the bowl to ensure the flour is well mixed. Add the soft butter in small pieces. When it is well incorporated into the dough, knead for about 10 minutes, until the dough gathers around the hook. Scrape the bottom of the bowl again to make sure all the butter is incorporated. Cover the bowl and let it rise for at least 1 hour at room temperature until it doubles in volume, or place it in the fridge overnight (this is the best option).

Baking
Once the dough has risen well, pour it onto a floured work surface and deflate it. Roll it out into a circle slightly larger than your tart dish (27 cm). Grease or line your dish with parchment paper. Fit the rolled dough into the dish, then trim the edges (I made a small brioche with the scraps). Let it rise gently; I covered it with plastic wrap to prevent it from drying out. It should almost double in volume. Once the tart base has risen, preheat the oven to 180°C with fan mode, and dock the base with a fork. Line the bottom of the tart with parchment paper. I used a tart ring, but you can do it without, just slightly smaller than the dish, add baking beads to bake blind. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove the baking beads and parchment paper and brush the tart base with lightly beaten egg white. This step is not mandatory, but since my tart was to stay in the fridge overnight, I wanted to ensure it wouldn’t soak up moisture. Return it to the oven for about 5 – 10 minutes until it is golden. Let it cool on a rack.

Pastry cream
Bring the milk to a boil with vanilla. Mix the sugar and cornstarch. Add the egg and vanilla extract, and mix. Gradually pour in half of the boiled milk while stirring. Pour this mixture back into the remaining milk and cook over low heat, stirring constantly. When the cream begins to boil, cook for an additional 3 minutes, continuing to stir with a whisk. Pour into a clean container, cover the surface with plastic wrap, and let cool completely in the refrigerator.

Praline and Peanut Praline

Start by roasting the hazelnuts and peanuts. Spread them on a baking tray and place in the oven at 160°C for about 15-20 minutes. Keep a close watch to ensure they do not blacken. If you are using nuts with their skins and prefer to remove the skins, place them in a kitchen towel once out of the oven and rub; the skins will come off.

Next, prepare a caramel: in a perfectly clean saucepan, put the sugar and water, and bring to a boil until you achieve a golden caramel. Mine was a bit too dark; I forgot to take a picture of the caramel before adding the nuts, but you will have a guide on the side of the saucepan.

Then add the hazelnuts and peanuts to the saucepan and mix well to coat the nuts. Remove from heat and pour onto a tray lined with baking paper. Allow to cool completely. Once the caramel is well cooled, place the nuts in the blender. Do this in two batches: first for the praline and then for the praline paste.

For the praline, you just need to chop the nuts; the result should not be too fine, so be careful if you have a powerful machine, as it can go quickly. Give a quick blend to achieve a coarse powder, and you have your praline. Pour 300g of this powder into a container and set aside.

Now, we want to create a praline paste with the remaining powder. Start the blender again and blend until you obtain a smooth and liquid paste; you have your praline paste, transfer to a container and set aside.

Whipped Cream
Just before plating the dessert, prepare the whipped cream. In the bowl of a mixer fitted with a whisk, add all the ingredients, starting at a low speed to loosen the mascarpone, then increase to high speed. You should achieve a firm whipped cream that holds its shape, being careful not to over-whip it to avoid graininess. Set aside in the refrigerator.

Assembly In the mixing bowl, pour in the pastry cream and whisk vigorously to soften it. In the tart shell, spread about one third of the pastry cream, then spread about half of the nut praline obtained (to be adjusted according to your taste and the result you want to achieve). Cover with the remaining cream and smooth it out. For the whipped cream, you have the option to use a piping bag with a large round tip or simply a spatula. I chose to transfer the whipped cream into a piping bag and then smooth it out with a spatula. Form a nice dome with the whipped cream and then generously cover it with praline. Refrigerate for at least two hours before serving so that the pastry cream firms up. Keep refrigerated until serving.