Preparation
- Mix the flour with the baking powder, quickly knead with the butter, sugar and egg into a shortcrust dough and rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 175 °C (conventional, top and bottom heat). Roll the dough out on a greased baking tray to about half the tray (approx. 25 × 30 cm) and spread evenly with the apricot jam.
- Warm the butter, sugar, vanilla sugar and water in a pan until the sugar has dissolved. Stir in the ground and chopped hazelnuts.
- Spread the nut topping evenly over the dough and bake in the oven for about 25 to 30 minutes until golden brown.
- Take the tray out of the oven and, while still lukewarm, cut the bake first into rectangles, then diagonally into triangles.
- Melt the couverture over a pan of water, dip two corners of each triangle into it and leave the Nussecken to set on baking paper.
Drink with it
Fortified wine · excellent match
Tawny port, 10 years old, lightly chilled
The nutty, caramelly ageing notes of the tawny pick up the roasted hazelnut topping, and its sweetness holds up to the bake.
Port wine: understanding Ruby, Tawny, and VintageCream liqueur · excellent match
Hazelnut liqueur, on ice
The same roasted hazelnut as in the topping, with a nougat note that suits the chocolate edge; on ice the extra sweetness feels less heavy.
Sweet wine · good match
Tokaji Aszú or Riesling Auslese
The sweetness and acidity of the wine catch the apricot and hold up to the sweetness of the topping.
Which wine goes with dessert? Comparing sweetness deliberatelySherry-cask whisky · good match
Sherry-cask whisky, neat or with a splash of water
Dried fruit, nut and spice from the sherry cask mirror the roasted topping.
What Does the Cask Do to Whisky?
Why it pairs well
Whisky with baked goods is unusual, but a sherry-cask whisky brings exactly the nut and dried-fruit notes that are in the topping.