Recipe

Grand Marnier Orange Walnut Tart

Photo by FifteenSpatulas

This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Late Winter Tart (Sweet or Savory)
Chef
FifteenSpatulas's Notes: The only way to describe this tart is bitchin'. Seriously, it's just awesome. It's sort of like a pecan pie, but it has walnuts instead, along with a TON of grated orange zest and a little...
The only way to describe this tart is bitchin'. Seriously, it's just awesome. It's sort of like a pecan pie, but it has walnuts instead, along with a TON of grated orange zest and a little bit of Grand Marnier to deepen the flavor. It's fragrant, it's crunchy, it's got a deep caramelized sugar taste, lots of orange flavor, and a cookie-like crust to it. It's a showstopper! For this recipe, you can use a simple pate sucree crust or use the Jamie Oliver's short crust sweet pastry I posted below. A pate sucree will be more flaky, whereas the short crust sweet pastry is more cookie-like.

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6 ounces light brown sugar (about 1 cup packed) Ask a question about this ingredient

2 tablespoons Grand Marnier or other orange liqueur Ask a question about this ingredient

1 11-inch sweet pie crust recipe, blind baked Ask a question about this ingredient

Time your blind baking so that the filling you prepare can go right into the hot crust, and into the oven. Have your oven ready to go at 350 degrees F.
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In a heavy bottomed saucepan, bring the butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently so it doesn't burn.
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Once it comes to a boil, keep it at a boil for 60 seconds, then remove it from the stove and stir in the walnuts, Grand Marnier, and orange zest. Let the mixture cool for about 5 minutes.
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Whisk the eggs into the slightly cooled mixture until it's smooth. Pour the filling into the hot tart shell, and bake for 40 minutes, until it doesn't jiggle when you move it around.
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Let the tart cool on a wire rack, then eat it at room temperature or slightly warm. Enjoy!
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Cream the butter, sugar and salt together in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
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Slowly add in the flour and egg yolks. When the mixture looks like coarse bread crumbs, add the milk.
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Scrape the contents out onto the counter, and form the dough into a ball, wrap it up in plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least one hour before rolling it out. This crust recipe is a little trickier to roll out than most, but I like the crispy cookie-like crust.
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To blind bake, bake the tart in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes with a piece of foil on top filled with dried beans or pie weights, then bake it for another 10 minutes without the pie weights. It is now ready to be filled.
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