Hazelnut pastry
1¼ cups skin-on hazelnuts
1 cup flour
2 tbsp sugar
¾ tsp salt
110g chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
Tart filling
Pinch of cream of tartar
1¼ cups sugar, divided
1 cup cream
1 cup orange kumara purée*
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp flour
1½ tsp ginger, finely grated
¾ tsp ground cinnamon
¾ tsp salt
3 eggs
Whipped cream to serve
Method
The crust
Preheat oven to 180°. Toast hazelnuts on a baking sheet, tossing once, until fragrant and slightly darkened, 8–10 minutes; let cool. Using a kitchen towel, rub hazelnuts together to remove most of the skins.
Pulse flour, sugar, salt, and ¾ cup hazelnuts in a food processor until the consistency of coarse meal. Reserve remaining ½ cup hazelnuts for filling. Add butter to dry ingredients and pulse until large breadcrumbs. Transfer mix to a bowl; drizzle with up to 1-3 tbsp of ice water over and mix, just to bring dough together.
Using your fingers, press dough evenly up the sides and then into the bottom of a 20cm pan; compact and smooth with a flat, straight-sided measuring cup or glass.
Bake crust until golden but not totally baked through, 15–20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool 10 minutes.
Getting things together
Meanwhile, bring cream of tartar, sugar, and 2 tbsp water to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat, until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to medium-high and cook, swirling pan occasionally until caramel is a deep amber colour, 8–10 minutes. Remove from heat. Whisking constantly, carefully add cream and whisk until smooth. Let caramel cool slightly in pot.
Whisk kumara purée, brown sugar, flour, ginger, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl. Gradually add caramel and eggs, whisking until well blended. Scrape filling into prepared crust. Bake tart, rotating halfway through, until filling is set around edges and centre barely jiggles, 30–35 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool in dish.
Meanwhile, coarsely chop remaining hazelnuts and cook in a small pan over medium heat with remaining ¼ cup sugar and 1 Tbsp. water, until sugar caramelizes and evenly coats hazelnuts. Transfer caramelized hazelnuts to a sheet of baking paper and let cool completely.
Break hazelnut praline over the top and serve with whipped cream.
Recipe created by Brett McGregor