Toasted Nut Tart Food

TOASTED NUT TART

Steps:

• For crust:
• Whisk 1 cup flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat butter, sugar, and powdered sugar in another medium bowl until pale yellow and well blended, about 3 minutes. Add egg; beat to blend, occasionally scraping bowl. Add dry ingredients in 3 batches, beating just to blend between additions. Gather dough into a ball; flatten into a disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least 1 hour. DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled.
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to a 12" round. Transfer to pan. Press onto bottom and up sides of pan. Trim dough flush with top of pan (reserve any scraps in case needed for patching crust after baking). Prick dough all over with a fork and freeze for 10 minutes.
• Line chilled tart shell with foil or parchment paper, leaving a 1" overhang. Fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until edges of crust are just beginning to turn golden brown, 35-40 minutes. Remove foil and pie weights. Patch any cracks in crust with reserved dough. Return to oven; continue baking until golden all over, 15-20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Store airtight in pan at room temperature.
• For filling:
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Place tart pan on a rimmed baking sheet; set aside. Spread out pistachios, hazelnuts, and pine nuts on 3 separate small rimmed baking sheets. Toast nuts until fragrant and light brown, about 5 minutes for pistachios, 10 minutes for pine nuts, and 20 minutes for hazelnuts. Let nuts cool completely.
• Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until golden-brown bits form on bottom of pan, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
• Stir brown sugar, corn syrup, salt, and vanilla in a medium bowl. Stir in eggs, then whisk in browned butter. Fold in nuts. Pour filling into tart shell.
• Bake tart, rotating pan halfway through, until filling is set around edges and jiggles slightly in center when nudged, about 1 hour. Loosely tent foil over tart if crust gets too dark. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Let stand at room temperature. Dust with powdered sugar just before serving. Serve with pistachio or hazelnut gelato, if desired.

PINE NUT TART

Steps:

• For the tart crust: Add the flour, granulated sugar and salt to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until combined. Add the butter and pulse until small pebbles form. With the machine running, add the egg yolk, vanilla and water and pulse until the dough just comes together. Remove to a piece of plastic wrap and press together into a dough ball. Flatten into a disk then refrigerate, at least 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make the honey and pine nut filling: Add the honey, brown sugar and salt to a medium saucepan over medium heat and whisk to combine. Cook, whisking occasionally, until the sugar melts, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the butter and whisk until melted. Pour the mixture into a large bowl and allow to cool for 25 to 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to a 13-inch circle and place in an 11-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Chill 30 more minutes.
• Prick the bottom of the tart with a fork. Place a piece of parchment in the center of the tart and fill all the way to the top with dried beans. Bake until the crust is set but still slightly pale, about 15 minutes. Allow to cool, then remove the parchment and beans.
• Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F.
• Meanwhile, whisk the heavy cream, egg yolk, lemon zest and juice into the cooled filling. Place the cooled tart shell on a rimmed baking sheet and scatter the pine nuts inside the shell. Evenly pour the filling into the tart crust and bake until the top is golden brown, the filling is set and the very center still has a slight jiggle, 50 to 60 minutes.
• Cool completely before slicing, at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour. Serve dusted with confectioners' sugar.

AWARD-WINNING MAPLE-NUT-TOFFEE TART

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Combine flour and sugar in a bowl. Cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
• Combine egg yolks and milk in a small bowl; stir into flour mixture until dough is blended.
• Press dough, using lightly floured hands, into the bottom and 1 inch up the sides of a 12-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Line the unpricked shell with a double thickness of aluminum foil. Place pan on a large baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven until edges are lightly browned, 12 to 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, combine condensed milk, maple flavoring, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir pecans, walnuts, and almonds into the batter.
• Remove shell from the oven, leaving oven on, and fill with batter.
• Return tart to the oven and bake until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and cool completely on a wire rack, about 30 minutes.
• Place chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl and heat in a microwave oven until melted, 1 to 3 minutes. Drizzle tart with melted chocolate. Refrigerate until chocolate has hardened and filling is firm.

CARAMEL NUT TART

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine flour and salt; cut in cream cheese and butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Gradually add water, tossing with a fork until dough forms a ball. , Roll out dough into a 10-in. circle. Press onto the bottom and up the sides of an ungreased 9-in. fluted tart pan with a removable bottom; trim edges., Line unpricked crust with a double layer of heavy-duty foil. Bake at 450° for 8 minutes. Remove foil; bake 5 minutes longer. Cool on a wire rack. Reduce heat to 400°., For filling, in a small heavy saucepan, combine the butter, brown sugar and corn syrup. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat; stir in nuts and vanilla. Spread into crust. , Place tart pan on a baking sheet. Bake until bubbly, for 15-20 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

HONEY SALTED MIXED NUT TART

Steps:

• Cube 8 tablespoons of the butter and place it in the freezer until it is very cold and almost frozen, about 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Pulse the flour, 1/2 cup of the mixed nuts, 3 tablespoons of the granulated sugar and a pinch of salt in a food processor until the nuts are finely ground. Pulse in the cold cubed butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Pulse in 2 tablespoons ice-cold water until the dough holds together when squeezed. Turn the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap (it will still be quite crumbly), form into a disk, cover in the plastic and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
• Put the dough in a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom and press into an even layer over the bottom and up the sides of the pan with your hands or the bottom of a measuring cup. Use a fork to dock the bottom of the tart. Freeze until firm, about 10 minutes.
• Place the tart pan on a baking sheet. Line the crust with parchment and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until the edges of the crust begin turning golden, about 20 minutes. Remove the parchment and pie weights and continue baking until the crust is lightly brown and dry to the touch, about 10 minutes longer. Transfer to a rack. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
• While the crust bakes, make the filling: Combine the remaining 3 tablespoons butter, the remaining 1/4 cup granulated sugar, the brown sugar, honey and a pinch of salt in medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat and, stirring constantly, continue to boil for 1 minute.
• Remove from the heat and set aside to cool slightly, about 10 minutes. (If the crust has cooled, return it to the oven for 5 minutes to warm through.) Whisk the vanilla extract and beaten eggs into the filling until smooth. Arrange the remaining nuts (about 2 1/2 cups) in a flat layer in the tart shell and pour the filling over top.
• Bake until the edges are set but the center is still slightly loose, 20 to 30 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.

CARAMELIZED NUT TART

Steps:

• Make crust:
• Mix flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in processor. Add butter. Using on/off turns, process until mixture resembles coarse meal. Mix in vanilla and enough ice water by tablespoonfuls to form moist clumps. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Roll dough out on floured surface to 12-inch round. Transfer dough to 9 1/2-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Fold overhang in and press, forming high-standing double-thick sides. Pierce dough all over with fork. Freeze 15 minutes.
• Bake crust until set but still pale in color, piercing with fork if crust bubbles, about 20 minutes. Transfer to rack; cool. Increase oven temperature to 400°F.
• Make filling:
• Combine sugar and 1/4 cup water in heavy medium saucepan. Stir over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat. Boil without stirring until caramel is deep amber color, occasionally brushing down sides of pan with wet pastry brush and swirling pan, about 9 minutes. Reduce heat to medium. Gradually whisk in cream (mixture will bubble). Stir until caramel is smooth. Add butter, honey and vanilla. Stir until well blended. Mix in all nuts.
• Pour caramel mixture into crust. Bake until filling bubbles all over, about 20 minutes. Cool completely on rack.
• Stir white chocolate in top of double boiler set over hot water just until melted and smooth. Remove from over water. Using fork, drizzle chocolate decoratively over tart. Let stand until chocolate is set, about 30 minutes. (Can be made 8 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)
• Serve with cream, if desired.

CHOCOLATE AND MIXED NUT TART

Steps:

• FOR CRUST: Combine flour and sugar in a food processor.
• Add butter and cut in, using on/off turns, until mixture resembles coarse meal.
• Add 2 tablespoons cream and vanilla extract.
• Using on/off turns, blend until moist clumps form, adding more cream by tablespoonful if dough is dry.
• Gather dough together.
• Press dough over bottom and up the sides of an 11-inch diameter tart pan with removable bottom.
• (I used a 9-inch pan with very little crust and filling left over.) (Dough can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill, but let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before filling.) FOR FILLING: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Combine all toasted nuts in a food processor; chop coarsely, using on/off turns.
• Whisk corn syrup, brown sugar, and melted butter in a large bowl to blend.
• Whisk in eggs and vanilla extract.
• Mix in chocolate chips, then nuts.
• Transfer filing to the prepared crust.
• Bake tart until firmly set in center and top is deep golden brown, about 50 minutes.
• Cool tart in pan on rack 30 minutes.
• Push up pan bottom to release tart.
• Serve warm or at room temperature.

PINE NUT TART

Steps:

• Roll dough out into a round 1/8 inch thick on a floured surface and fit into a 9 inch flan or tart pan with a removable, fluted rim.
• Make a decorative edge ¼ inch higher than the top of the rim; prick shell lightly with fork and chill 30 minutes.
• Put rack in lower third of oven.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
• Line crust with wax paper or foil and fill with dry beans or pie weights.
• Bake for 10 minutes.
• Remove pie weights and paper carefully and bake 5-10 minutes longer, or until golden.
• Let cool on rack.
• Put rack in middle of oven and set oven temperature to 375 degrees F.
• In a bowl, combine sugars, corn syrup, flour and eggs and beat until smooth.
• Stir in vanilla, orange zest and pine nuts and pour into shell.
• Bake for 40 minutes, or until filling is almost set.
• Let cool.
• Melt chocolate and drizzle decoratively over tart.
• Serve at room temperature with cinnamon whipped cream.
• For cinnamon whipped cream: Beat cream until foamy.
• Beat in sugar, a little at a time and cinnamon.
• Beat until it holds stiff peaks.