Recipe for walnut tart – tarte aux noire

This fabulous recipe for walnut tart takes a bit of time and patience to make – but the wow factor taste is worth it! Created by Carl Marletti, Best Pastry Chef of the Year, 2009 – it’s an absolute delight.

Serves 8

Active time: 1 hour
Chilling time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes

Equipment

9 ½-in. (24-cm) tart ring or pan with a removable base
Stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment

Ingredients

Walnut Cream

2.75 oz. (80 g) butter, softened
2.75 oz. (80 g) sugar
2.75 oz. (80 g) ground walnuts
2.25 oz. (65 g) lightly beaten egg
2 tsp (10 ml) rum

Sweet walnut-vanilla pastry dough

4.5 oz. (130 g) flour
1.75 oz. (52 g) confectioners’ sugar
0.5 oz. (15 g) ground walnuts
⅛ tsp (1 g) salt
2.75 oz. (75 g) butter, chilled and diced
1 oz. (25 g) lightly beaten egg
2 tsp (10 ml) vanilla extract

Vanilla fudge

10.5 oz. (300 g) superfine sugar
1 oz. (30 g) glucose
3 vanilla beans, split lengthwise and seeds scraped out
¾ cup plus 2 tbsp (204 ml) whipping cream
2 tbsp (30 g) chestnut honey
0.5 oz. (15 g) butter

Caramelized walnuts

10.5 oz. (300 g) fresh shelled walnut halves
Scant ½ cup (100 ml) 30° syrup
4.5 oz. (125 g) golden raisins

Chantilly cream

2 vanilla beans, split lengthwise and seeds scraped out
2.75 oz. (80 g) mascarpone
¾ cup (160 ml) whipping cream
2 ½ tsp (10 g) superfine sugar

Method

Making the walnut cream

Cream the softened butter with the sugar until pale. Stir in the ground walnuts. Gradually add the egg and combine until smooth and uniform. Incorporate the rum and beat until lightly whipped. Press plastic wrap over the surface of the cream and chill.

Making the sweet walnut-vanilla pastry dough

Sift the dry ingredients together. Add the butter and rub to a sandy texture. Gradually incorporate the egg and vanilla extract, and combine until a smooth dough is formed. Cover with plastic wrap and chill. Roll out the dough to a thickness of about ⅛ in. (3 mm), line the greased tart pan with the dough, and chill for 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C/Gas mark 3). Fill the chilled tart shell with the walnut cream and bake for about 25 minutes. Let cool completely.

Making the vanilla fudge

Make a dry caramel with the sugar and glucose. In a separate saucepan, infuse the vanilla beans and seeds in the cream. Gently stop the caramel cooking by pouring in the hot infused cream through a fine-mesh sieve, then add the honey. Bring to a simmer, then remove from the heat and incorporate the butter. Blend and strain through a fine-mesh sieve. Allow to cool until lukewarm.

Making the caramelized walnuts

Preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C/Gas mark 3). Mix the fresh walnuts with the syrup. Drain off any excess syrup and spread the walnuts on a nonstick baking sheet. Bake for about 15–20 minutes until caramelized. Set aside a few caramelized walnuts and raisins for decoration, then add the remaining raisins to the walnuts. Set aside.

Making the Chantilly cream

Using the stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the vanilla seeds, mascarpone, whipping cream, and sugar together until stiff.

Assembling the tart

Fill the tart shell with the caramelized walnuts and raisins. Cover with the fudge and decorate with the reserved caramelized walnuts and raisins. Chill in the refrigerator for 10 minutes. Using a spoon, place quenelles of Chantilly cream on top.

Extracted from French Pâtisserie: Master Recipes and Techniques from the Ferrandi School of Culinary Arts by Ferrandi Paris (Published by Flammarion).