Remember this Spanish-inspired nut tart?
I am finally sharing the recipe with you! This Spanish nut tart is pretty gourmet…which means I didn’t actually make this recipe…I just ate it. 😉 But it was delicious, so I have to share it with you just the same. I had the pleasure of enjoying this nut tart about a month ago when my friend Faye, the pastry chef, made these tarts for her son’s elementary school class (lucky class, eh?). This tart is based on a Spanish (specifically Catalan) treat. Faye was nice enough to sit down and write the recipe out for us, which is quite the task actually. Everyone tell Faye “Thanks!” next time you see her. 😉
Faye's Catalan Nut Tart
Author: From Faye Stein, Pastry Chef and Friend Extraordinaire to Jane Maynard 😉
Recipe type: Dessert
Ingredients
- The dough (pâte sucrée):
- 1¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- pinch of salt
- 3 tablespoons butter, cubed ( 1 stick? )
- 1 yolk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 2 tablespoons cream
- The filling:
- ⅓ cup pear juice (or juice to your taste)
- ¼ brown sugar
- 4 oz dates (could do any combo, such as; apples/dates, apricots/figs, cherries/figs, etc.)
- The topping:
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 6 tablespoons sugar
- 3 tablespoons corn syrup
- 6 oz total of dry roasted nuts of your choice (Faye used 2 oz pistachios, 2 oz cashews, 2 oz almonds)
- 1½ tablespoons cream
Instructions
- For the dough (pâte sucrée): Mix the egg yolk, ½ teaspoon vanilla and 2 tablespoons cream and place in the fridge so that it's cold and ready to go. Cube 3 tablespoons of butter and refrigerate also.
- In a food processor, pulse the 1¼ cup flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, pinch of salt. Add 3 tablespoons chilled butter and pulse to crumble. Add the refrigerated egg yolk mixture and pulse until you have a cohesive dough, like a cookie dough. Smoosh into a disk in plastic wrap, and allow to rest for at least 30 minutes.
- For the filling: In a saucepan, allow ⅓ cup pear juice (or other juice) and ¼ cup brown sugar to dissolve. Add the 4 ounces of dates (or other fruits). Bring to a boil over high heat then cook for 1 minute. Process the mixture in the food processor to form a thick paste then let it cool.
- For the topping: Preheat the oven to 400º F. Roll out your chilled dough, fill your tart shell, and blind bake for 15 to 20 minutes. It should be fully baked. To blind bake, place a piece of parchment in the tart and fill it with beans. This will keep it from bubbling up. Remove the parchment and beans at the end and put it back in the oven for a few minutes. Now it's ready to fill.
- Cook first 6 tablespoons butter, 6 tablespoons sugar and 3 tablespoons corn syrup in heavy large saucepan over low heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and bring to boil. Boil vigorously 1 minute. Remove from heat. Add nuts and 1½ tablespoons cream.
- Spread fruit filling in crust; smooth the top. Set tart on a cookie sheet. Spoon nut topping over the fruit filling. Bake until filling bubbles, about 20 minutes. Transfer tart to rack and cool 10 minutes. Using oven mitts, loosen tart pan sides but do not remove. Cool tart completely in pan. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and let stand at room temperature.) Remove pan sides. Cut tart into wedges.
Lucky me…a few friends are getting together on Thursday and Faye is bringing goodies. What deliciousness will I be ‘subjected’ to, I wonder?
Hi! My name is Jane Maynard and you've landed yourself on my blog, This Week for Dinner™. Every Sunday I share a weekly menu...and count on you to share yours! You'll also find other deliciousness that I hope you'll enjoy!
Those kids in the elementary school class have been spoiled forever. This tart is beautiful!
Holy beautiful deliciousness!! It would be so satisfying to create that! And tasty, I’m sure….
Wow what a fabulous looking tart. I have to bookmark this one for sure.
I had a beautiful nut tart in Barcelona when I visited several years ago, and I’ve been desperately trying to find a recipe for it ever since… and this recipe is almost exactly like the one I remember eating.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! (and thanks to Faye, too!)
Picture perfect!
Oh my God! This looks fabulous! I love nut tarts, but I’ve only made/had it once. This one looks better, though! Time to refresh those memories 😉
I’ve never ever seen a nut tart like this one before. I’ve made one for Valentine’s Day. It is Venus’ Chocolate Macadamia Nut Tart. Pretty good, but not nearly as good looking as yours. Thanks for sharing!
What a gorgeous and unique treat! I’ve never seen anything like it.
This looks a amazing and now I am drooling in my cubicle.
Thank you. haha
Made this last night for a family birthday celebration. This tart is awesome, and very easy to make, almost felt guilty for accepting all the compliments. Thank you for sharing this! it has now become a family favorite.
yea! I can’t tell you how happy I am that it was such a hit…AND I’m glad it was easy! yea!
Faye’s Nut Tart looks divine. Can you please tell me what size tart pan to use.
Thank you.
wow, doreen, excellent question! can’t believe we left that out and it’s been so long I can’t remember…I am going to get in touch with faye to find out and will let you know! 🙂