Recipe: Walnut caramel tart with orange chantilly cream

Indulgent and comforting at the same time, this tart is perfect for a special meal. Photo / Fresh Media

Ooh la la! The Americans have their beloved pecan pie; the French have this incredible walnut caramel tart.

Full of warm, buttery, nutty flavours, it’s a beautiful ending to a special meal on a crisp autumn day. If you aren’t keen on making your own pastry, then you can use frozen sweet shortcrust pastry instead.

Walnut caramel tart with orange chantilly cream

Serves 6

Ingredients

Rich sweet pastry

175g standard flour

85g chilled butter, cut into small pieces

50g caster sugar

1 large egg yolk

1-2 Tbsp chilled water

Pinch of salt

Filling

200g caster sugar

3 Tbsp water

100g butter, cut into small pieces

200ml cream

175g walnut pieces

Pinch of salt

Orange chantilly cream

250ml cream

2 Tbsp icing sugar

2 tsp fresh orange juice

1 tsp orange zest

½ tsp vanilla essence

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C.
2. Make the pastry: place the flour, butter and caster sugar in a food processor and pulse just until the mixture forms a coarse crumb.
3. Add the egg yolk and 1 Tbsp of chilled water and pulse to bring it together into a firm dough. Add a tiny bit of extra water only if it seems very dry.
4. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly. Roll out into a disc that is large enough to line a 24cm loose-bottomed tart tin.
5. Lift the dough into the tin and trim off overhanging edges. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 20 minutes.
6. Prick the bottom of the pastry with a fork several times, then line with a round of baking paper and fill with rice or pastry weights. Blind bake for 10 minutes, then remove the weights and paper and bake for another 5 minutes.
7. While the pastry crust is baking, make the filling. Combine the sugar and water in a large saucepan and heat gently without stirring until the sugar is dissolved.
8. Increase the heat and bring to the boil. Cook until the syrup has turned a deep amber colour.
9. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter, then the cream. Be very careful with this – the mixture will bubble up, and it is extremely hot.
10. Return to the heat and boil until the caramel is thick enough to coat a spoon. Add the walnut pieces and salt and cook for another 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly.
11. Pour the walnut filling into the crust, spread it out, and bake for 10 minutes, until the filling is bubbly.
12. Cool for at least 10 minutes before removing it from the tin. Serve warm or cold with a decadent dollop of Orange Chantilly Cream.

Orange Chantilly Cream

Whisk all the ingredients together with an electric beater to form soft peaks.

– fresh.co.nz