Directions: |
Directions:Dough:
In a large bowl, beat butter by hand until smooth.
Add sugar, salt, hazelnuts, and flour, and mix together quickly to form a ball of dough. Cool briefly in the refrigerator. Divide the dough in half. Either with your hands or a non-stick rolling pin, spread each half onto a circle of baking parchment or waxed paper cut to fit a 24 cm (10 inch) tart pan or springform. Place one of these disks paper-side down in the form.
Filling:
Mix dry ingredients, then add cream slowly, stopping to check consistency. The filling should be thin enough to flow slowly, but thick enough to hold together when poured into the center of the first disk of dough in the springform or tart pan. Pour into center, stopping to see how far out the filling flows. You should leave about 2 cm free around the outside edge.
Top it off: Take the second dough disk and invert it onto the top of the first disk and the filling. Remove the paper carefully. You will see a higher mound of dough-covered filling in the middle and will surely think at this point, “This can’t be right!” But even so you will dutifully seal up the edges of the dough with a fork all the way around. Use the fork to prick the middle of the dough lightly in several places in the center of the mound. The torte will flatten out evenly when it bakes.
Place the torte in the middle to lower rack of an oven preheated to about 350F and bake for about 35-40 minutes, depending on how the oven heats. Check frequently toward the end to make sure everything is golden brown, but not too dark. If you take it out too soon, it will be too crumbly; too long, and the crust gets too hard and crunchy. Cool completely before eating. You can dust it with powdered sugar if you wish. |
This recipe for Hazelnut Torte is from