by cheese1227
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Expand½ cups granulated maple sugar Ask a question about this ingredient
½ cups white sugar Ask a question about this ingredient
3 large egg whites at room temperature Ask a question about this ingredient
1/8 teaspoon salt Ask a question about this ingredient
1/2 cup good quality New England maple syrup, divided Ask a question about this ingredient
¾ cups chopped walnuts, toasted Ask a question about this ingredient
¾ cups unsalted soda crackers, crushed Ask a question about this ingredient
1 teaspoon baking powder Ask a question about this ingredient
16 intact walnut halves Ask a question about this ingredient
1 cup heavy whipping cream Ask a question about this ingredient
Preheat oven at 350 degrees F. Butter the bottom and sides of a rectangular tart pan. A large round one will work too. But regardless of its shape, it’s best to have a removable bottomed pan.
Ask a question about this stepCombine white and maple sugars in a small bowl. Put egg whites and salt in a large mixing bowl and beat them together at high speed until you get soft peaks. Keep whipping them as you slowly add the sugar, two tablespoons at a time until the cup of sugar is fully incorporated and egg you’ve got glossy peaks. Slowly mix in two tablespoons of maple syrup. Fold in the chopped walnuts, crushed soda crackers and baking powder. Spread the mixture into the prepared tart pan, taking care to make the sides high, so that there is good indentation in the middle to hold the maple whipped cream for service.
Ask a question about this stepBake the shell 25-35 minutes or until the meringue is golden but not brown. Remove from the oven, and cool completely. Refrigerate the shell at least two hours (preferably overnight if you’ve got the time).
Ask a question about this stepMeanwhile, put ¼ cup of maple syrup in a non-stick skillet and add the walnut halves, coating them with syrup. Using a medium-high flame, heat up the mixture, letting the syrup bubble up around the nuts. When the syrup is caramelized and very sticky and the nuts are coated, they are sufficiently candies. Lift the nuts out of the pan one at a time to let them cool separately on waxed paper or a Silpat mat. When they are cooled completely, store them in an air tight container.
Ask a question about this stepWhen you are ready to serve the tart, whip the cream to soft peaks. Add 4 Tablespoons of maple syrup and whip the cream a bit more. Spread the cream in the meringue cavity. Top with the candied walnuts and serve. This does keep well in the fridge for several hours.
Ask a question about this stepThanks, Merry! I've actually made this pork recipe several times even before it was a finalist and it is pretty amazing!
Squeeee Christine! This is beautiful! I want I want I want. And as soon as my class is over this weekend, I Will Have It. Congratulations!
Thanks Cathy!!! I'm up here in Maine looking ot collect lots of syrup! As good a tart as this is, it's a really tough sell against ENunn's pork shoulder!
I am making this mouth watering tart (subbing soda crackers with almond flour to make it Gluten Free!) this weekend - for Easter! Thank you for this beautiful recipe!
Great! I think both fiveanspice and I would love to hear how it turns out!
Congrats on being a finalist! This is such a cool, unique, and completely delicious sounding dessert! As a side question, do you think it would still be good without the crushed crackers if one were to make it for a gluten free friend?
Thanks, fiveandspice! I think you have two options on the GF option. Double the nuts or use GF crackers, which I think would work well.
Thanks for the encouragement, fiveandspice! I think you have two options for GF here. You could double the nuts, mayben griding half into a meal. Or you could use GF crackers. I think they would work well!
I make GF meringue pie crusts a lot. You can also follow chees1227's fab sounding recipe and just omit the crackers all together-- no need to change the nuts/add almond flour, etc. What a fun way to fill a meringue crust-- thanks for the recipe!!!
Thanks for the GF tip!
Great play on textures and flavors! A big, big winner!
Thanks! I'd love some feedback if you give it a try!
Love, love, love it. I'm partial to tarts....
RE: particality to tarts! Oh my, I just had unrelated but related flashback to the first time I was invited to a Vicars and Tarts party while living in England. In that sense, I'd have to say I am partical to Vicars, but its always fun to party with a few Tarts, too.
Sorry for the confusion, Kitchen Butterfly. I was signed in on my friend's computer for that last comment! I'm not sure if FizzyLizzy123 preferes tarts or vicars!
Congratulations, much deserved. A beautiful tart that truly showcases the maple.
Thanks, sdebrango! I happen to be in Maine right now where they are lamenting the looney weather that is impacting the maple syrup yield this year. Hopefully there will be enought to go around so that the whole Food52 community can try both recipes! I've made ENunn's dish several times and it is fantastic!
Sorry, sdebrango. I accidentally commented from my friend's login. Don't know if she's made ENunn's dish, but I have!
i vote for this one in the maple contest...i am not sure how to vote for it specifically... i clicked and so on... but i cant figure how to vote ... .. que sara.
ts, when you get to the page where one finalist photo is above the other and there is a 'vote for this recipe' flag on each, that is where you click- on the flag you want.
Thanks for the vote Truly Scrumptious! I hope you were able to figure it all out. Thanks Le Bec Fin for providing the guidance!
Thanks Midge!
I love maple and walnuts together, but think the cream in the pie is brilliant. Saving this, for sure. Congrats!
Thanks, ChefJune! The cream is pretty damn good just by the spoonful! Works great on pumpkin pie too!
Congratulations! This is a gorgeous tart.
Thanks hardlikearmour!
Congratulations, cheese1227! What a lovely tart.
Thanks gingerroot!
Whipped cream and maple -'nuf said. This looks yummy!
I think the cream woudl be great on pancakes, too!
this is my idea of a sophisticated dessert. most admirable ingredients and technique! thx so much.
Really nice. Love that nut crust! (i'm playing with pink today.)
Thanks!! I have found that I need to really candy the sliced grapefruit to help get the bitter out. In that experiment I am finding that blanching brings out the pink.....
It's not decadent in the way that say, a really good chocolate cake is. It's very subtly decadent, if there is such a thing.
Love the dacquoise-like tart idea! Great flavor combo, too.
Thanks. It's a very light dessert. Great after a hearty stew.
Hubby really likes this one.
What is and where can you purchase Almond flour and Maple sugar?
Nate and Mary Kate are the authors of the cookbook Feeding the Dragon: A Culinary Travelogue through China with Recipes.
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The lineup is simple enough: heavy cream, white and maple sugar, walnuts, egg whites, and soda crackers. Oh, and maple syrup!
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Merrill uses her hands to separate egg whites into the Kitchenaid bowl.
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Maple sugar adds an extra kick of flavor to the tart's shell.
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When the whipped cream starts to get soft peaks, it's time to add the mixed sugars two tablespoons at a time.
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Meanwhile, Amanda uses her beloved meat pounder to pulverize some innocent crackers.
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Total (cracker) annihilation!
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Merrill checks to see if the whipped cream's glossy peaks pass muster as Amanda studiously looks on.
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Time to add in the maple syrup!
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Already, the meringue looks good enough to eat.
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Save your prettiest walnut halves for later on in this recipe -- the first batch just gets chopped.
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It's time for the mix-ins, starting with the walnuts.
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Cracker crumbs and baking powder join the party...
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...then you fold it all in.
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The tart pan gets buttered up until it shines.
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No, that's not a pavlova, it's a tart crust!
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Amanda expertly finishes the crust while Merrill cleans up a bit.
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Just a half hour later, we pulled this beautifully golden-brown crackly shell out of the oven.
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Now for the candied nuts! It only took a few minutes of simmering for these whole walnut halves to make friends with the maple syrup.
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We poured them out on parchment paper to cool.
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Amanda dons a kitchen-towel bib to whip cream by hand, slowly drizzling in maple syrup.
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The finished cream gets poured into the refrigerated tart shell.
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All it takes is a quick topping with those candied walnuts -- spread them evenly so everyone gets some!
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And that's it.
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We love a generous slice of pie.
Voting for your tart ~ it sounds WoNdeRful and unique~ Anyways, who needs another pork recipe? Haha!