Tart Adelina
With endless layers of flavors, this dessert is sweet and tasty while equally combining chocolate and vanilla flavors.
Ingredients
Crust: (makes two rectangle tart shells)
5 cups cake flour
2 cups sifted powder sugar
½ cup finely ground blanched toasted hazelnuts
12 oz. sweet butter
¼ tsp. salt
2 whole eggs
1 ½ tsp. vanilla
Chocolate sponge (Genoise)
7 large eggs
3 egg whites
1 cup sifted cake flour
½ cup good quality cocoa sifted
⅓ cup cornstarch
3 tbsp. clarified butter
3 tbsp. corn oil warmed
1 cup granulated sugar
Pinch ground cinnamon
Vanilla Genoise
5 egg large eggs
2 egg yolks
½ tsp. orange zest
1 cup sifted cake flour
¾ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup cornstarch
3 tbsp. clarified butter
3 tbsp. corn oil, warmed
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
Chocolate Ganache (side filling)
1 tsp. crème de cocoa
1.5 tsp. cognac
12 oz. heavy cream
4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate
2 oz. bittersweet chocolate
6 oz. sweet butter
2 oz. corn syrup
⅓ cup unsweetened hazelnut paste (OPT)
White chocolate truffle (top layer)
1.5 cups heavy cream
2 lb. high-quality white chocolate
5 oz. sweet butter
¼ cup corn syrup
⅛ cup Grand Marnier
Steps
Crust:
- Add cream, butter, sugar and salt.
- Combine eggs with vanilla. Add eggs in three stages, scrape between additions.
- Mix in ground hazelnut and gently mix in flour.
- Pin out cold dough and line in rectangle shaped tart pan (with removable bottom). Chill 1 hour.
- Blind bake shell 75%, then remove liner and bake shell until crust is golden. Let cool.
Sponge Cakes
- Warm eggs and sugar over water batch to 100°F (add zest at this stage). Whip to full volume and fold in sifted dry ingredients and then slowly add warm butter and oil. Pour batter immediately into greased and papered 11-by-7-inch cake pan.
- For chocolate sponge: Whip egg whips with 1 tablespoon of sugar to soft peak, fold in last.
- Bake at 350°F, until cake springs back slightly—do not over bake.
- Chill cake in freezer to aid in cutting. Trim & cut cake into 3⁄16-inch thick layers. Cut carefully and evenly.
- Spread thin layer of red current jam between layers going chocolate/vanilla/chocolate/vanilla. Press cake down slightly with cake board to even out height. Chill cake 1 hour. Flip cake over and proceed to cut ⅜-inch strips. Then reassemble cake by alternating layer stacks light/dark to resemble checker board. Sandwich layers with thin coat of red current jam making sure good adhesion is achieved. Wrap cake and freeze until assembly.
Ganache
- Chop chocolate into fine pieces and place in bowl. Combine cream, butter, corn syrup. Heat but do not boil. Pour scolded mixture over chopped chocolate. Allow cream to heat chocolate before stirring.
- Add in liquors and any other flavoring desired. Set aside, covered, at room temp to thicken.
Tart assembly
- Spread very thin amount of red current jam on the center of the shell, leaving 2 ¾-inch strips without jam parallel to crust wall (chocolate ganache will fill this space).
- Cut strip of checker board cake place on top of jam. Position cake so it is evenly spaced so that channel is left on either side of cake for chocolate ganache filling.
- Carefully pipe in thickened chocolate ganache into channels. Make sure ganache level is ¼-inch below top layer of the cake. Chill cake for 90 minutes.
- Carefully pipe white chocolate truffle filling on top of cake and chocolate ganache, taking care to fill just below crust line. Chill 4 hours.
- Heat ½ cup apricot glaze with 1 tablespoon white wine and brush crust edge. Attach toasted almonds.
- Cut cold tart with heated thin blade knife, cleaning knife between cuts.
- Allow tart to sit at room temp for 10 minutes before serving.
Recipe by University of Maryland, College Park, Md.
Tips
*Seedless jam will be required for assembly. Assembled cake should be no higher than ¾ the height of the interior shell—cutting thin even layers is essential.