Caramelized Milk Chocolate Tart with Hazelnut Shortbread Crust

In my opinion, this is the time of year for milk chocolate. It's creamy, and comforting, and nostalgic (growing up, our Easter basket bunnies were always milk chocolate!). And if you're thinking that milk chocolate is too sweet, think again. This tart, which features our 40% Caramelized Milk Chocolate, hits notes of warm biscuits and toasted nuts, wrapped in a silky, just-sweet-enough milk chocolate blanket. It's also dead-easy to make!

Serves 8 to 10
Ingredients

• 1-¼ cups heavy cream
• 8 ounces RCC Caramelized Milk Chocolate Baking Discs
• 1 egg, beaten
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon almond extract (optional)
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• ¾ cup hazelnuts, ground
• ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (I use Maine Grains sifted all-purpose whole grain flour)
• RCC Exceptionally Dark Cocoa Powder (optional)
• freshly whipped cream (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. To make crust, place sugar, vanilla extract, salt, and almond extract in a small bowl. Add melted butter and stir. Add ground hazelnuts and flour all at once and stir into a soft dough. Press the dough across the bottom and up the sides of a nine-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Place the tart pan pan on a cookie sheet and bake for fifteen minutes, or until the crust just starts to brown.
3. While the crust is baking, put the milk chocolate in a small, heatproof bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan to near boiling and pour it onto the chocolate. Allow mixture to sit for a minute. Gently whisk chocolate and cream together until it looks like soft pudding. Whisk in the beaten egg.
4. When the crust is lightly browned, remove it from the oven and pour the filling into the shell. Shake the tart pan gently back and forth to level the filling, reduce the oven heat to 325 degrees, and immediately place the tart into the oven. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the filling just begins to set around the edges.
5. Remove the tart from the oven and cool completely. Dust with cocoa powder for a velvety finish. Slice and serve the tart with a dollop of whipped cream.