Pecan Walnut Tart

Ingredients

Cooking Directions

Sugar Dough

Combine flour, sugar and salt in food processor fitted with metal blade.

Pulse to combine

Add butter and pulse 10 to 15 times, until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal

Add egg yolks and cream; pulse twice.

Add water slowly and pulse to mix

Gather dough into a ball and divide into two pieces. Flatten one half into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and freeze until ready to use for the Pumpkin-Cranberry Tart. Divide remaining piece in half, flatten into 2 disks and wrap individually.

Refrigerate until ready to make Tart.

Tart

Prepare crust and top of tart. On a floured surface, roll one of the disks of Sugar Dough to a 12-inch circle and line a 9-inch by 1 and 1/2 inch tart pan that has a removable bottom. Roll remaining pastry into a 10-inch circle and place on baking sheet; chill.

Combine the sugar, water and lemon juice in a large saucepan; stir gently. Bring to a boil and cook until the mixture turns a rich caramel color, or reaches 334 degrees F on a candy thermometer. Note: if the caramel crystallizes as it cooks, let it continue cooking until the crystals melt again; the caramel will become quite dark, and it will be necessary to add 2 to 3 Tbsp. additional cream.

Remove pan from heat and pour in cream; swirl gently until bubbles subside. Reserve 5 walnut halves and 4 pecan halves for decoration and gently mix in remaining nuts. Add butter. When butter has melted, stir filling gently.

Transfer to a large metal bowl; let cool to lukewarm. Turn filling into prepared flan ring or pie plate. Brush edges of shell with egg wash; top with chilled pastry circle. Pinch the edges to seal, then trim away excess dough. Cut 2 or 3 small slashes in the top of the pastry to allow steam to escape. Chill.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Bake the tart in the bottom third of the oven until the crust is golden brown, about 40 to 50 minutes. Let cool to room temperature. Remove from tart pan. Invert the tart onto a cake-cooking rack to ice. Place rack on wax paper to catch drips.

Heat the ganache in a double boiler or over very low heat until smooth enough to pour. Pour over the tart , smoothing the top and sides nicely with a large narrow spatula.

*Note — The tart may be baked in advance and frozen, then covered with ganache the day it is served. Decorate the top with the reserved walnut and pecan halves and place it on a fancy serving plate.

Serve with unsweetened, light whipped cream if desired.

Chocolate Ganache (enough to cover one tart)

Place chocolate pieces in a large metal mixing bowl. In a large saucepan, bring cream to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently.

Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and stir until the chocolate has melted. 3. Add the butter and stir until smooth and well-blended.

Recipe courtesy of Wolfgang Puck © 2001.