It doesn’t happen very often, but I’m actually not going to be cooking a Thanksgiving meal this year. I feel a little bad about this–for me, this holiday is a cook’s dream and I always look forward to planning an elaborate menu to share with family and friends. Not to mention the fact that this is the first Thanksgiving for passioneats, where I would have loved to share some of my favorite dishes. Oh well, there’s always next year. But I am looking forward to traveling to Maryland with my husband and kids to share a big feast with our dear cousins and friends. And I’ll be bringing along my signature dessert–a tart that, for my family, has become synonymous with this holiday. Honestly, if I didn’t feel so guilty, I probably would not have coughed up this recipe–it’s one I usually hold close to the vest (even though I found it in Gourmet many years ago). So here’s my turkey day gift to you: a decadently rich, chewy tart with a lusciously buttery crust and creamy caramel filling packed with toasted walnuts and pecans, all topped with a drizzle of bittersweet chocolate. Dense and delicious, it’s really like a giant candy bar. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
Caramel Nut Tart
The flavors of this tart hit a lot of pleasure points: buttery, sweet, crunchy, chewy, chocolatey, and, now, salty: this year I’ve decided to add a little bling by giving it a final flourish of fleur de sel. Garnering lots of oohs and aahs, it is a dessert that has won many fans over the years, especially my father-in-law, who truly adored it.
It begins with a pastry dough, but please don’t be put off by that–when you follow the simple steps I provide, you’ll be amazed that you, too, can bake a tart shell from scratch.
Key to making a flaky crust is to use very cold butter and water, and to not overwork the dough. I take my unsalted butter out of the freezer (where I store it), let it soften just until I can cut it into bits, then put it back in the freezer until it’s time to add to the dough.
Using a food processor is a great way to bring the dough together quickly. In it, pulse together the flour, sugar, kosher salt, and cold butter, just a few times until it looks coarse and has pea-sized lumps of butter throughout.
Drizzle a couple of tablespoons of ice water into the processor and pulse a few times more until the dough just holds together when you squeeze it in your hand. This is a very subjective thing–if it’s a dry day, you may need to add more water; on a humid day, add less. Best to begin with less water and add more water as needed, only pulsing a few times so you won’t overwork the dough.
The dough will still be rather crumbly; pour it out on a lightly floured counter and knead with the heel of your hand just a couple of times to spread butter throughout. With a pastry scraper or your hands, gather the dough together and pat into a round disk. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour, or overnight, until firm.
In order to roll the dough out to fit an 11 inch tart pan (one with a removable bottom), use super wide wax or parchment paper, or tape 2 pieces together for the bottom and 2 pieces for the top. Place the dough on the lightly floured paper and, with a lightly floured rolling pin, begin rolling out the dough, turning the paper a quarter turn after each roll, so it rolls out evenly. Continue rolling out the dough, until it measures about 14 inches in diameter.
Transfer the rolled out dough to a baking sheet, cover with the other sheet(s) of wax paper and refrigerate for 10 minutes. Flip dough over and peel off the wax paper.
Carefully lift the dough and place over the tart pan, gently tucking into corners. Use the rolling pin to cut excess dough from the rim; use the extra pieces to patch any holes.
Place tart pan on a baking sheet and put back in the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Line pastry shell with foil and cover edges. Fill with pie weights (raw beans or rice work well, too) and, on the middle rack of the oven, bake for 35 minutes.
Remove foil and weights from pan. Tart shell should be golden; if dough is undercooked in spots, return it to the oven and bake for an additional 3 to 5 minutes. Don’t worry if the shell has shrunk from the sides of the pan–this recipe is very forgiving. Place tart pan on a rack to cool.
Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. In a skillet over medium low heat, toast the walnuts and pecans until fragrant and golden, tossing about 3 or 4 minutes. Coarsely chop the nuts.
Melt butter, light brown sugar, and honey over medium heat in a small saucepan. Stir and simmer for 1 minute. Add heavy cream and chopped nuts and simmer for another minute.
Place tart pan on baking sheet (to catch any drips) and pour caramel with nuts into cooled tart shell. Bake in oven for 30 minutes, turning once midway, until golden brown. Cool tart in pan on rack.
Melt chopped chocolate in a double boiler or in a metal pan over a saucepan of simmering water. Stir until smooth and let cool slightly.
Pour melted chocolate into a plastic ziploc bag and snip off the corner with scissors. Drizzle the chocolate over the cooled nut tart, going back and forth to make a criss-cross pattern.
Sprinkle with fleur de sel while chocolate is still soft. Let chocolate set, then cover and chill until ready to serve. This tart can be made up to 2 days in advance.
Remove the tart from the pan and serve. Originally, the recipe states it can serve 8 to 10, but I find I’m always able to serve many more from this tart–a small sliver is enough to savor this decadently rich dessert. Enjoy your feast!
Adapted from Gourmet
Makes an 11 inch Tart:
All Butter Pastry Dough:
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) cold unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 to 4 tablespoons ice water
1 1/2 cups pecans
1 1/2 cups walnuts
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate
sprinkling of fleur de sel (optional)
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