Macadamia Nut Tart
There are many ways I can tell if someone really likes one of my baked goodies or is merely being polite. You know, little “tell-tale signs.” I saw one of my favorite ones the other day.
I had been working on the timing for my Macadamia Nut Tart for a week or so and figured that since I go to my friend Lisa’s house weekly, I should not waste the opportunity to schmooze and get rid of a whole tart at the same time. This is certainly better than taking over a slice or two and then eating the rest myself, which would not be a good choice for fitting into clothes.
The background on the Macadamia Nut Tart started years ago. I used to bake this tart on a regular basis and it worked perfectly each and every time. I shared the recipe with my friend, Lauretta, who told me that when she cut into the tart, the center oozed and she was a tad mortified. I told her that I would have said “this is my favorite part” and spooned the flowing caramel over the tart. We had a good laugh.
Great story until nearly a decade later, my Macadamia Nut Tart oozed as I served it New Year’s Eve. I immediately flashed back to Lauretta as I smiled at my guests and told them that the tart was quite delicious, excess caramel and all. And then I got back in the kitchen the next day to figure out how I needed to adjust the timing.
Two tries later, I figured it out and I now bake the Macadamia Nut Tart 15 minutes longer than the original recipe called for. The trick to not burning either the top or the bottom of the tart is to rotate the pan partway through baking as well as loosely cover the tart with aluminum foil after 40 minutes.
There were plenty of “oohs” and “ahhhs” at Lisa’s house regarding the presentation of the tart, but quite frankly, I was tickled pink that I figured out the correct timing for the darn thing.
So, how did I know that the Macadamia Nut Tart was really loved? I turned around to see my friend Elaine using her finger to get every crumb off the plate. Finger licking is a fabulous “tell” that leaves little doubt as to ones opinion of any dish.
| Macadamia Nut Tart | | Print |
- Crust:
- 1¾ cups all purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 11 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 2 large egg yolks
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon cold water
- Filling:
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 4 large eggs
- 2 large egg yolks
- ¾ cup sugar
- ¾ cup light brown sugar
- 1½ cups light corn syrup
- 2 cups (10 ounces) macadamia nuts, either halved or coarsely chopped
- Topping:
- 2 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted
- 2 ounces white chocolate, melted
- For the crust:
- In a food processor, pulse the flour and sugar until mixed. Add the butter and pulse on/off until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add egg yolks, vanilla and water. Pulse on/off until the dough forms a ball. Shape into a disc, wrap in wax paper and refrigerate for at least one hour.
- Line parchment paper on the bottom of an 11" tart pan with removable bottom and set aside.
- Roll the dough out on top of two pieces of wax paper, keeping a sheet of wax paper on the top of the dough, so your rolling pin is on the paper not the dough. After each roll, rotate the dough and lift the paper. Roll the dough to a diameter of 13”.
- Transfer the dough to the tart pan and fold the extra dough under the sides to reinforce them. Freeze the tart crust for 10 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 375°
- For the filling:
- Brown the butter by heating it in a small saucepan over medium high heat. The butter will foam. Swirl the pan until the foam subsides and it begins to brown at the bottom of the pan. Watch carefully as it does not take a long time to go from perfectly browned to burnt.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, egg yolks, sugar and brown sugar together. Whisk in the light corn syrup and then the browned butter.
- Place the tart crust on a baking sheet. Arrange the nuts evenly on the crust. Pour the filling over the nuts to the top of the crust, but not over. There may be leftover filling.
- Bake at 375° for a total of 50 minutes. Rotate the pan front to back after 20 minutes and after 40 minutes, cover the tart loosely with aluminum foil. The top will be a deep golden brown and will split a bit on top when done. It should not be very jiggly.
- Cool tart completely in the pan on a cooling rack. Remove the side of the pan and refrigerate for at least three hours or overnight. Transfer to a serving plate. The parchment paper will still be attached.
- For the topping:
- Pour both melted chocolates into quart size freezer plastic bags, one for the white chocolate and one for the semisweet chocolate. Cut a small piece off the bottom of the plastic bag and squeeze the chocolate out, going back and forth over the top of the tart. Alternate the white and semisweet chocolate so it forms a pretty pattern over the top of the tart.
- Betsy's tidbits:
- The dough is very easy to work with. If it does not transfer evenly, move the dough to where you need it.
- If there is leftover filling, pour it back into the saucepan used for browning the butter and cook over medium high heat until the mixture reaches 160°. You now have caramel sauce that is delicious for dipping apples into or pouring over ice cream.
- If you do not like to serve desserts with the parchment still on, cover the top of the tart with a plastic wrapped 12” cardboard round and flip it upside down. Remove the bottom of the tart pan as well as the parchment paper. Place the serving plate over the bottom of the Macadamia Nut Tart and flip it so the tart is right side up. Then cover with chocolate drizzle.
