This Nutella tart tastes exactly how it looks: lush. It’s a Nutella ganache of sorts, cooked on the… I’m sorry, wait. Did you read that just now? NUTELLA GANACHE. Like regular chocolate ganache, but even better.
Ok so a Nutella ganache cooked on the stovetop in a matter of minutes and poured into a toasted hazelnut crust. It’s rich, but not quite as rich as you would guess. Who am I kidding, the ingredients are heavy cream and Nutella. It’s exactly as rich as you would guess.
While this is essentially a foolproof recipe (I swear it’s easy), I have a bunch of step shots for you so you can understand exactly what you’re doing with both the crust and the filling. I’ll put all of the step shots below the recipe since there’s quite a few.
But here’s what you need to know right now:
- All of the filling’s flavor comes from Nutella. I was tempted to put chopped up chocolate in the filling as well, but didn’t want anything—even plain chocolate—to take away from Nutella’s own chocolate flavor.
- You’ll only need 5 ingredients for the Nutella filling. And they’re all basic ingredients like cream, cornstarch, Nutella, vanilla, and salt.
- The crust is wonderfully crunchy and a delightful complement to the smooth Nutella filling it holds. Where are all my texture loving friends out there? This dessert is for us.
- Taking a few minutes to toast the chopped hazelnuts beforehand intensifies their flavor, which clearly pairs well with chocolate hazelnut spread!
- Make the crust in your food processor. Just wait until you smell everything coming together. Those toasted hazelnuts are unbelievably dreamy.
- You don’t need to bake the filling! Just spread it inside the pre-baked crust and refrigerate.
- Since this recipe sets up in the fridge, your oven is clear for other Thanksgiving pies. We all really need this!
Also: make ahead recipe alert! Since this tart sets up in the refrigerator—and tastes best cold—you can essentially make it days in advance and let it hang out in the fridge until you need to serve it. You’ll love that!
Have leftover Nutella? Try my Nutella brownies or Nutella crinkle cookies next!
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Nutella Tart with Toasted Hazelnut Crust
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours, 30 minutes
- Yield: 8-10 servings
- Category: Tart
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This unbelievably rich and creamy Nutella tart is complete with a toasted hazelnut crust. The perfect make ahead, irresistible dessert!
Ingredients
Toasted Hazelnut Crust
- 1 cup (120g) chopped unsalted hazelnuts
- 1 cup (125g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 2 Tablespoons (25g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
- 3 Tablespoons (45ml) ice water
Nutella Filling
- 2 Tablespoons (14g) cornstarch
- 2 cups (480g) heavy cream
- 3/4 cup (225g) Nutella
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- I encourage you to check out the step-by-step photos below this recipe before beginning.
- Preheat the oven to 300°F (149°C). Spread chopped hazelnuts out onto a parchment paper or silicone baking mat lined baking sheet. Toast until slightly darkened, about 5-7 minutes. Allow to cool down for 5 minutes. Turn the oven up to 350°F (177°C)
- For the crust: Using a food processor, pulse 3/4 cup of the toasted hazelnuts, the flour, sugar, and salt together until it reaches the consistency of coarse meal. (Reserve 1/4 cup of the nuts for topping.) Add the cubes of cold butter and pulse until the mixture turns into pea-sized crumbs.
- Transfer mixture to a large bowl. Using a silicone spatula or wooden spoon, slowly stir in 3 Tablespoons of ice water. You only want to add enough water to bring the dough somewhat together. Using floured fingers or the bottom of a flat and lightly floured measuring cup, press the dough evenly into a 9-inch tart pan. You want it extremely tight in the pan. You’ll need to use pie weights for the next step, so line the crust with aluminum foil or parchment paper and add pie weights.
- Bake (with pie weights) for 18-20 minutes. Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack so it can slightly cool as you prepare the filling.
- For the filling: Whisk the cornstarch and 1/2 cup of the heavy cream together in a small bowl. (You want a little cream mixed with the cornstarch to avoid white cornstarch lumps in your filling.) Combine the cornstarch mixture, the rest of the heavy cream, Nutella, and salt into a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk to combine all of the ingredients and bring to a boil. While constantly whisking, allow to boil for 3 minutes as it thickens. Remove from heat, whisk in the vanilla, then pour into the crust, swirling the top for a pretty pattern (if desired!).
- Chill in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours or until set. Top with remaining hazelnuts.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: This is the perfect recipe to make ahead of time, especially when you are entertaining. You can prepare the entire dessert, cover tightly, and keep in the refrigerator for 3 days before serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Baking Sheet | Silicone Baking Mat or Parchment Paper | Food Processor | Glass Mixing Bowls | Silicone Spatula or Wooden Spoon | 9-inch Tart Pan | Pie Weights | Whisk
- Smaller Tarts: To make smaller, individual size tarts—simply press crust into small tart pans. It will make about 8-10 depending on the size you’re using. Pre-bake crust until golden brown on the edges and spread in the filling.
- Adapted from Food Network.
The crust is made from hazelnuts, flour, a little sugar, salt, cold water, and cold butter. Remember the cardinal rule for making pie/tart crust from scratch? Cold is best. The chopped hazelnuts are toasted before you mix them with the other ingredients. And by “mixing” I’m referring to your food processor. You want to break down those hazelnuts into a crumb-like texture, pulsing them with a few of the other crust ingredients as well as the butter.
Transfer the crust dough to a large mixing bowl, then slowly mix in ice cold water. You’ll only need about 2-3 Tablespoons, no more. It will still be a little sandy, but that’s ok. It will come together when you press it into the pan. The next step is to pre-bake the crust. You’ll need a 9-inch tart pan. Here is the tart pan I own and love, if you don’t have one yet! If you ever want to make my spiced pumpkin tart or lemon blueberry tart, you’ll need one. You can also make small individual tarts if you’d like. See my recipe note above. 🙂
To press the crust into the tart pan, use a floured flat-bottomed measuring cup. This is the best trick I learned! You can really pack the crust down and around the edges, especially if you keep your measuring cup floured.
Perfect!
Bake the crust for about 20 minutes. You’ll need pie weights (or dried beans!) for this step.The reason? The added weight on the dough ensures that the crust holds its shape, does not shrink down, and remains firmly planted in the pan.
As the crust cools, begin the Nutella filling. This is the easiest part!
Combine all of the filling ingredients except for the vanilla extract. Whisk and bring to a boil. Stir in the vanilla.
There, you’re done.
Spread into the crust and put the refrigerator to work!
A few hours later, dig in.
Absolutely Divine!!!!! So rich, creamy, and smooth. Wow!
Hi Sally! Could I make this with your Biscoff crust recipe?
Definitely!
how do you get the filling so smooth?
Hi Alesha, did the ingredients come to a boil in step 6? Once they do, be sure to keep whisking for about 3 minutes, which will help the mixture to combine and thicken.
it was so yummy
Thanks for your response… It turned out great… Everyone loved it.. I added black cocoa to the crust.. It was good..
If I use digestive cookies for the crust, how long do I bake it for?
Hi Reem, you can follow the baking times and instructions from our graham cracker crust post (using the digestive biscuit section of that post instead).
I made this for Thanksgiving since my sister-in-law isn’t a huge fan of pumpkin. Unfortunately my grocery store didn’t have hazelnuts! They had every other nut it seemed. So I substituted peanuts instead. It sort of came across as chocolate/peanut buttery flavored, but still very delicious. The texture was so silky smooth and it was relatively easy to make. When I make it again in the future, I’d like to try pistachios instead if I can’t find hazelnuts. Pistachios and Nutella remind me of my favorite gelato flavors when I visited Sicily.
Recipe looks delicious.. If I have to transport it for couple if hours, will it melt or will it hold the shape properly and will I be able to cut the tart perfectly
Hi Jai, can you travel with the tart in a cooler? That would be the best option. Either way, make sure it has chilled in the refrigerator for 3-4 before traveling. Hope it’s a hit!
Thanks for your response… It turned out great… Everyone loved it.. I added black cocoa to the crust.. It was good..
Delicious! Crust was great. Mine took closer to 22 min for crust and may bake it for last few minutes without pie weights the next time. Was perfect with whipped cream to balance out richness. Would def make it again!
Unfortunately heavy cream is hard to come by where I’m from. Could i use fresh cream? 25-30% fat or are there any alternatives?
Hi Jannani, the fat from heavy cream is necessary for the filling to set properly—you’ll want something around 36% fat content. Some readers have tried full fat canned coconut as an alternative, but we’re unsure of the results.
My grocery store only had dry roasted hazelnuts…does that mean I wouldn’t need to roast them? Or would that still improve the flavor?
Hi Alison, you could certainly go ahead and use them as is!
I was wondering if you thought sugared cranberries would pair well with this tart?
Hi Allison, we can’t see why not!
could i make this crust without a food processor?
Hi Joanna, you will want to use a food processor or something with a sharp blade so that it will chop the hazelnuts to consistency of coarse meal. You can try a blender if you have that instead.
Easy to follow instructions and a delicious dessert for when you have guests over. I substituted the hazelnuts in the crust with peanuts and it turned out really well.
I tried this recipe scared it was going to be too rich, but it was creamy and nutty and not at all too rich! I also decorated with fresh strawberries and raspberries which worked great. This is a great recipe would reccomened
I tried this recipe scared it was going to be too rich, but it was creamy and nutty and not at all too rich! I also decorated with fresh strawberries and raspberries which worked great. This is a great recipe would reccomened
We made this recipe for Easter lunch it was a hit!! Delicious and easy to make.
First time making this recipe was for Thanksgiving.I made it just because it seemed simple not to fussy and to have an extra dessert on the table.EVERYONE loved it.It was raved about for days.I will definitely be making it again.Simple recipe and absolutely delicious!
Could you use hazelnut flour in place of the whole hazelnuts? I have some I need to use up!
Hi Gabby, we haven’t tested this recipe with alternate flours but let us know if you do!
I subbed equal weight hazelnut meal for the hazelnuts in the crust and it baked perfectly. I did bake it about 5 more minutes after removing the pie weights to firm it up a bit more.
I purchased the suggested tart pan and it was delivered today. The documentation states to not use metal utensils on it. What do you use to cut the tart into slices. I plan to make this forThanksgiving. Thank you. I love your recipes. .
Hi Sally and Team,
I love your website and all the wonderful recipes you share. This recipe looks amazing, but I’m wondering if I can sub half the hazelnuts or flour in the crust for graham crackers to give it more of a classic graham cracker taste, but stick with the hazelnut theme of the tart. What are your thoughts/recommendations?
Thank you!
Hi Amber! I think that sounds delicious, and I can’t see why that wouldn’t work. I would, however, chance the flour/graham cracker ratio though. Perhaps 1 and 1/4 cups flour (about 160) and 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 90g).
Do you think I could use lower fat milk instead of heavy cream in this recipe? Thank you!
Hi Marty! The Nutella filling wouldn’t set without the fat from the heavy cream. Best to stick with that!
Hi,
Would I be able to make this in a regular pie dish or does it have to be a tart dish?
Hi Alexis, a pie dish will work in a pinch, but it will be very difficult to get neat slices out of the dish. If you can, a tart pan will work best!
I wonder if this could be made with canned unsweetened coconut milk instead of heavy cream?
Hi JoAnn, you can try full fat canned coconut milk in place of the heavy cream. (Shake it up before using.) Let us know how it goes!
The recipe looks delicious. However, could I use pecans or walnuts for the crust. Hazel nuts can be expensive and I would not use them often.
Thank you for help.
Hi Gina, you can try replacing the hazelnuts with peanuts or another type of nut, or you can even try this graham cracker crust instead.
Hi, Love, love, love all of your recipes!! Making the wonderful tiramisu and want to try this tart. If I make your homemade graham cracker crust can I still put it in the tart pan? Do I have the bake the crust? Thank you
Hi Patty, yes you can use the graham cracker crust in a tart pan. You can simply chill the crust. Hope it’s a hit!
Hi Sally! When you are baking the crust, do you put the ceramic weights directly on the crust or do you lay down some parchment paper to put them on? Thanks!
Hi Gabby, You’ll want to line the crust with aluminum foil or parchment paper before you add pie weights.
Hi Sally & Team,
Would this Nutella ganache work as a filling or drip decoration for a cake? Would I need to make any adjustments? Looking forward to trying this – Nutella is my weakness!!
Hi Kate, this Nutella ganache is excellent as a filling for a layer cake. (I’ve tested it before with vanilla cake layers and it was incredible.) I haven’t tested it as a drip ganache on top of a cake though. Let me know if you do!
Could you smear this filling once chilled between cookies? 😀
Hi Samantha, it may be a bit thick, but we can’t see why not. Let us know if you try!
Hi, Sally. I am planning to make this tart for Thanksgiving, but I think it will be more kid-friendly with a graham cracker crust. If I use your recipe, would I bake the crust before filling it with the Nutella ganache, or just chill it? Thanks for your help!
Hi Michelle! You can simply chill the crust. Hope it’s a hit!
Do you think this would be OK frozen? I see you mentioned making it ahead and storing in the fridge, but I’d love to make this for thanksgiving and freeze it until then.
Hi Liz, You can freeze this. After thawing, the crust may be a little softer than intended, but shouldn’t be soggy. There won’t be much change to the filling.
Could you use a natural hazelnut spread for this instead of Nutella?
Hi Renea, we haven’t tested this tart with a natural hazelnut spread. It could change how the tart sets, especially if the natural spread is oily. Let us know if you give it a try!
Tried opening you link for the tart pan you suggested and it doesn’t work.
Hi Nicole, try this: https://amzn.to/3E5mCbF