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Home/Cranberries/Hazelnut Honey Toffee Tart with Cranberry Variation

Hazelnut Honey Toffee Tart with Cranberry Variation

HAZELNUT HONEY TOFFEE TART WITH CRANBERRY VARIATION

Every year when fresh cranberries hit the markets, I immediately stock up, and then almost as immediately, make this delectable tart. OK, to tell the truth, I am in the markets a few weeks early, whining to whoever will listen, or muttering to myself even, about the absence of cranberries.

“Shouldn’t they be in by now? Are they late this year? When do you think you will have them?”  When they FINALLY arrive, I experience an internal sigh of relief. Well, thank God already!

HAZELNUT HONEY TOFFEE TART WITH CRANBERRY VARIATION

This year, on my first round with this excellent tart (which will be baked again for Thanksgiving and Christmas), I decided to try Maury Rubin’s City Bakery pastry crust, which I had read about some time ago in the Los Angeles Times.

This crust is essentially what in French cuisine is called a pâte sucrée (paht soo-KRAY), or a rich and sweet dessert pastry, which I taught to students for many years at the Northwest Culinary Academy.

There’s a difference, however. Maury adds a small amount of cream, which has an extra tenderizing effect on the pastry.

HAZELNUT HONEY TOFFEE TART WITH CRANBERRY VARIATION

I haven’t made pâte sucrée in a while and didn’t consider how extremely tender and short it is and how inappropriate those usually desirable qualities might be for this tart.

In addition, the cream sent it over the tenderness edge. Although this pastry is truly wonderful, DO NOT use it for this tart, as it is much too fragile.

UPDATE   Instead, use the versatile pastry recipe I developed after writing this post:

Quick & Easy, Flaky, All Butter, Short-Crust Pastry + 5 Variations

The bubbling caramel sauce will break through the crust, making it ever so difficult to remove the tart from the tart pan–after the tart has cooled sufficiently for you to safely do so.  Suffice it to say that we ended up eating some of the small tarts directly from the pan, a messy (although still delicious) proposition.

On the positive side though, my adventures with Maury’s crust led me to his excellent little cookbook, titled, Book of Tarts: Form, Function, and Flavor at the City, which I ordered from Amazon and am now devouring.

Maury’s tarts have a post modern feel. I love the way he has organized them by season. You must check out his Cranberry, Caramel, and Almond Tart, which looks amazing.

You can’t have too many recipes that combine cranberries and caramel. Nope, not possible.

HAZELNUT HONEY TOFFEE TART WITH CRANBERRY VARIATION

Hazelnut Honey Toffee Tart

This recipe originally entered my files as an unusual Scandinavian Christmas cookie. Later, I met a native Italian cook who claimed a slightly different version as part of her culinary heritage. In January of 1982, Sunset magazine printed yet another variation, labeling it a dessert tart–and in the process Americanized the concept of nuts and caramel in a pastry crust.

This particular recipe is just enough different from the others I have seen and eaten–Scandinavian, Italian, American, or whatever–to make it very special. It does indeed make a lovely dessert tart, but serve in small wedges as it is quite rich.

If you want to make cookies, line an edged baking sheet with the pastry and proceed as directed. Cut into small triangles to serve.

2 cups (6 ounces) hazelnuts, lightly toasted, skinned, and coarsely chopped (walnuts or almonds can also be used)

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup local, artisan honey
1/2 cup cream

1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1/2 teaspoon hazelnut extract (or almond or walnut extract)

Sweet Short Crust Pastry: one, 1-inch deep, 10- to 11-inch diameter crust; or six, ¾-inch deep, 5-inch diameter crusts, partially-baked in removable-bottom quiche or tart pans

Optional Garnish

Spiced Apple Cider Caramel Sauce or Cranberry Caramel Sauce (in process)

Homemade or Haagen Daz Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

NOTE   For the pastry recipe, see Quick & Easy, Flaky, All Butter, Short-Crust Pastry + 5 Variations.

  1. Arrange the toasted, chopped hazelnuts in the pastry crust or crusts, on an edged cookie sheet (in case the caramel leaks or boils over the edge of the tart pan). Reserve.
  2. In a large saucepan, combine the butter, sugar, honey, and cream.
  3. Over moderately low heat, bring the mixture very slowly to a boil. (Wash down the sides of the saucepan occasionally with a pastry brush dipped in cold water to discourage sugar crystallization.) Stir constantly and make sure that the sugar dissolves before the mixture is allowed to boil. Otherwise the caramel will be granular.
  4. Boil the mixture, without stirring, until a candy thermometer registers 240º. It will be a very light brown; don’t go too dark or the caramel will overcook (darken and harden too much) in the oven.
  5. Add the flavoring extract and lemon peel, and stir together.
  6. Remove the caramel from the heat and let it cool for a few minutes before pouring it into the partially-baked pastry shell. (There is nothing hotter or more dangerous than hot sugar syrup; be very careful.)
  7. Bake the tart at 375ºF on the middle rack of the oven for 20-25 minutes. The tart will be bubbling and turn a medium honey-caramel color. (Again, if the caramel is too dark, the tart will be too stiff; if the caramel is not dark enough, the tart will be runny.)
  8. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack.
  9. Remove the outer ring of the tart pan and serve the tart on an attractive round platter. Cut into thin wedges with a very sharp knife. The tart should be served at room temperature and can be made a day ahead if desired.

Serves 12-14.

Hazelnut Honey Cranberry Toffee Tart

Add 1-1½ cups whole fresh cranberries along with the hazelnuts. No other adjustment is necessary.

Copyright 2008 Susan S. Bradley. All rights reserved.

Written by:
Susan S. Bradley
Published on:
October 21, 2015

Categories: Cranberries, Desserts, Hazelnuts, Holiday, Nuts, Pies | Crisps | Cobblers, ThanksgivingTags: caramel, Cranberries, Desserts, Fall, hazelnuts, holiday, tarts, toffee

About Susan S. Bradley

Intrepid cook, food writer, culinary instructor, creator of the LunaCafe blog, author of Pacific Northwest Palate: Four Seasons of Great Cooking, and former director of the Northwest Culinary Academy.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Deborah

    October 31, 2015 at 11:36 pm

    Perfect looking tart! I love the combo of ingredients – especially love the cranberries in this!

  2. Geoff

    October 23, 2015 at 4:15 pm

    I’m a fan of cranberry ANYTHING and this seems right up my alley.

  3. Pech

    October 22, 2015 at 8:43 pm

    A Hazelnut Honey Toffee Tart with spiced apple cider caramel sauce sounds so perfectly fall!

  4. Erin

    October 22, 2015 at 3:52 pm

    Holy cow. That looks incredible. I love the idea of cranberries, hazelnuts and honey. Perfect fall dessert.

  5. kelsey

    October 22, 2015 at 10:33 am

    this looks absolutely gorgeous! would love to take a bite 🙂

  6. Rachel Lloyd

    October 22, 2015 at 9:14 am

    I saw this on your instagram and knew the recipe would be coming soon!! Can’t wait to try this- it looks amazing!

  7. Manila Spoon

    October 22, 2015 at 6:31 am

    Hazelnut, honey and cranberries – what a delightful combination! This tart surely looks delectable and perfect for Thanksgiving!

  8. Ali

    October 22, 2015 at 5:58 am

    This tart is beautiful. I love hazelnuts and think this would go perfectly on any holiday table.

  9. Kacey

    October 22, 2015 at 4:59 am

    I love this tart and I am so excited to make this! I also get impatient waiting for fresh cranberries, haha. But something about hazelnuts and cranberries sounds perfect (and this is a dish where I would have no issue shelling out some extra money on nuts.)

  10. Marye

    October 22, 2015 at 4:43 am

    I stock up on cranberries too! Then I put them in the freezer and use them through the next year because I can never find them when I want them! This tart looks gorgeous!

  11. Erin

    October 21, 2015 at 8:26 pm

    I, too, am a HUGE fresh cranberry fan. I grew up in Ocean Spray country! I don’t know why I haven’t experimented with cranberry focused desserts more – this one looks amazing. I will try it!

  12. Andrew

    May 7, 2009 at 7:51 pm

    Being a major cranberry + caramel fan, the variation you suggest sounds well worth a try. However, I am confused by your suggested quantities. If 1.5 cups of cranberries are added to 2 cups of nuts for the filling, won’t the result be 1/3+ more filling than the crust can hold?

    • smsb

      May 8, 2009 at 9:38 pm

      Thanks for your question! I see your concern but magically these quantities do fit within the shell. The cranberries lose volumn as they cook. The picture above shows the finished tart, which contains 2 cups of hazelnuts and 1 1/2 cups whole cranberries. I hope you will try it. It’s awesome! 🙂

  13. smsb

    November 26, 2008 at 8:46 pm

    Thank you Tartlette! I was pretty sure I had that pronunciation right and it’s great to have you confirm. 🙂 Maury’s little book is really inspiring. I love the neo modern design approach, very simple and striking. Can’t wait to try a few of his creations. However, it is surprisingly difficult to locate the bottomless plain tart rings in the small size. Might have to order those online.

  14. Tartelette

    November 26, 2008 at 2:41 pm

    Actually you are right…coming from a French, it is pate (paht) sucree as in su-kray and paht-ay would refer to a savory terrine.
    I love Maury’s book and I love this tart!!

  15. smsb

    November 25, 2008 at 7:48 pm

    Thanks Kevin! 🙂

  16. smsb

    November 19, 2008 at 12:00 am

    Happy Cook, thanks so much! By all means use any nuts that you like. It will definitely work. A combination would be spectacular. I didn’t specifically mention it in the recipe but chopping the nuts makes the tart easier to eat. The exception to that would be sliced almonds. Throw in a small handful of those as is. So pretty.

  17. smsb

    November 18, 2008 at 11:55 pm

    Naomi, thank you. I have never heard it pronounced that way in culinary schools, but then look what Americans do to the poor little word, crepe. 🙂 Check out Epicurious at http://www.epicurious.com/tools/fooddictionary/entry?id=3856 and see what you think. This tart is actually not like a pecan pie in that there are no eggs and thus no custardy filling. This is more like a chewy caramel.

  18. Happy Cook

    November 18, 2008 at 10:02 am

    I hav enever seen such a delicious yummy looking dessert.
    Can i use peacan or almonds instead of hazelnuts.

  19. naomi

    November 17, 2008 at 6:12 am

    It looks amazing! I’m loving the top the version which looks like a hazel version of a pecan pie?

    Just to correct your French (if I may), it’s påte´ (I can’t get the French characters to work!) pronounced pah-tay soo-kray.

    x x x

Trackbacks

  1. cranberry honey washington state says:
    April 26, 2011 at 8:54 am

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Susan S. Bradley

Intrepid cook, food writer, culinary instructor, creator of the LunaCafe blog, author of Pacific Northwest Palate: Four Seasons of Great Cooking, and former director of the Northwest Culinary Academy. Read More…

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