Sarah and Mike… Probably

Preparation time:  45 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Serves 8

What you need:

• 100 gm(s) Whole blanched hazelnuts
•  85 gm(s) Unsalted butter
• 25 gm(s) Icing sugar, sifted
•  125 gm(s) Plain flour, sifted
•  1 Egg yolk
•  200 gm(s) Dark chocolate
•  10 Whole cardamom pods
•  284 ml(s) Double cream
•  1 tbsp(s) Cocoa, sifted

What to do:

Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5. Grease a 23cm loose-based flan tin & dust with flour. Toast the hazelnuts in the preheated oven for 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool, then chop in a food processor or coffee grinder until finely ground.

For the pastry. Cream 60 gms of the butter with the sifted icing sugar, add 40 gms of the ground nuts, then gradually work in the sifted flour. Beat the egg yolk and 1 tbsp water together and add this to the pastry, gradually working it into a ball.

Turn the pastry out onto a lightly floured surface, using your hands, press it out gently into a circle slightly smaller than your flan tin. Carefully place it into your tin (don’t worry if it breaks) and press it around with your fingers until it fits. Trim any excess. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes. Prick the base of the pastry with a fork, then bake blind for 15-20 minutes, until lightly browned. Set aside to cool.

Meanwhile crush the cardamom pods using a pestle and mortar. Remove the green husks and finely grind the seeds. Add the cardamom to the cream and warm gently in a saucepan until the surface is just beginning to tremble, but don’t let it boil. Remove the pan from the heat and add the chocolate, broken into chunks, the remaining butter and ground hazelnuts. Stir until melted and smooth. Set aside to cool, but don’t let it get totally cold. Pour the mixture into the pastry case and place in the fridge to harden (for a couple of hours). Before serving dust with sifted cocoa.

Seasonality: hazelnuts are in season in August and September.

Recipe by: Lizlander