Espresso Pecan Tart

A Woman’s Love of Baking

My mother recently bought an out-of-print cookbook and inside found two handwritten recipes, which she was kind enough to send to me. When I opened the envelope, I saw the recipes that reminded me of how my grandmother wrote down her recipes.

The handwriting was meticulous and the recipes were written with precision and an eye for detail. I found myself wondering who this writer was and am hoping she is not searching for her recipes that are now in my possession.

It was a toss up as to which recipe I would blog about first and the Espresso Pecan Tart won; and I mean this recipe is a winner in every way possible.

I have made many pecan tarts throughout the years, but have never tried one with espresso/Kahlua in it. After trying this I don’t know why it has taken me so long to discover this wonderful combination.

The toasted pecans complement the coffee flavor and when the tart came out of the oven, all I wanted to do was inhale deeply. The aroma in the kitchen was heavenly. It was like walking into a bake shop that serves freshly roasted coffee.

The crust was also a bit different from the one I usually use for my pecan tarts. This crust was less sweet, which turned out to be the perfect match for the sweetness of the filling. I also found it interesting that, even though the filling is most certainly the consistency of a pecan tart, the addition of espresso helped ‘cut’ the sweetness.

As a general rule, I do not serve whipped cream with most of my desserts. I tend to prefer the taste of the pie/cake/tart on its own. In the case of this Espresso Pecan Tart, I made an exception because, quite frankly, this whipped cream was too good to pass up. The Kahlua in the cream rounded out all of the Tart’s components.

More than likely, I will never know the lady behind the beautifully handwritten recipes. I will, however, always be thankful to her for her love of baking. This was a very sweet way to start my new year.