Creamy Nutella Tartlettes

Sometimes the best recipes come out of quick thinking, little time and lots of pressure. With guests coming in a matter of minutes to our Mediterranean Grill Party, I didn’t have time to prepare the desserts I had in mind. So in a ‘MacGuyver’ moment, I came up with these Creamy Nutella Tartlettes that turned out to be a great hit at the party. Thank goodness it worked out, otherwise my dessert table would have been pretty empty!…

Initially I wanted to make some beautiful Nutella tarts but the recipe was a bit too time consuming. I had to prepare all the other dishes on our Mediterranean Grill Party menu that the desserts ended up taking a back seat. When I finally got a chance to work on the desserts, I had guests texting and calling me informing that they were minutes away. What to do?! I quickly thought of making a real simple mousse with Nutella and freshly whipped cream. Once the mousse was made (in a matter of minutes, thanks to my stand mixer) I just piped them into super convenient phyllo cups and garnished them with a whole toasted hazelnut. Voila… Sweet treats for all!

You can find the packaged phyllo cups in the frozen section of your local grocery store, where phyllo dough and prepared frozen pie crusts are sold. Otherwise, if you can’t find phyllo cups in your area, you can just as easily make your own using phyllo dough sheets. Simply cut the sheets into 1-1 1/2 inch squares and push them into a greased mini muffin cup. You’ll want to butter and layer several sheets of phyllo in each mini muffin well to get a nice, crispy phyllo cup. Once you fill each of the mini muffin cup wells, bake in a 400 degree oven for 3-7 minutes until lightly golden. Allow to cool completely on a baking rack before filling.

1 1/2 cups Nutella or chocolate hazelnut spread
2 cups heavy whipped cream
3 packages phyllo shells
1/2 cup whole toasted hazelnuts

Place the nutella into a large mixing bowl and set aside; Place phyllo shells onto a serving platter and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, place the cold heavy whipping cream and beat on medium high heat with the whisk attachment to stiff peaks.

Carefully fold the whipped cream into the Nutella in the large bowl until fully incorporated. Transfer this Nutella cream mixture into a pastry bag or large gallon sized plastic storage bag with a corner snipped off. Carefully pipe the Nutella cream into the phyllo shells on your prepared serving platter.

Garnish each tartlette with a whole toasted hazelnut and serve.