| Pecan Cranberry Tart |
Pecan Pie is a Thanksgiving classic. There have been many twists on it involving addition of chocolate. Even though one can never have too much chocolate, I always found chocolate variation to be too sweet for my taste. In my interpretation of this classic dessert, I pair pecans with cranberries. Their tartness creates a wonderful and refreshing contrast to the sweet caramel filling. If you don't have real maple syrup that this recipe calls for, substitute with light corn syrup. |
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| Ingredients | Directions |
| Pâte Brisée for a 10" tart pan |
Crust:
Roll out the dough 1/8 inch thick on a lightly floured surface
turning it constantly so that it does not stick. Add more flour
as needed. The dough might crack around the edges. Most of the
cracks don't matter since the edges will be trimmed after the tart
is in the pan. If there are some big ones that will show when
the tart is in the pan, patch them with pieces of dough before
fitting the tart into the pan. When the dough is rolled out, flip
it over the rolling pin and transfer it to a 10-inch tart pan with
removable bottom. Fit it into the tart pan without stretching.
Roll the rolling pin over the top of the tart to cut off the dough
hanging over the pan's edge. Refrigerate 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 400F. Place the tart pan on shallow baking sheet. Fit the tart pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper, fill with beans or pie weights, and bake in the middle of preheated oven for 15 minutes. Carefully remove the foil with beans and bake for another 5 minutes. The crust is now ready to be filled. |
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1 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar 3/4 cup light corn syrup 1/2 cup maple syrup 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into bits 4 large eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla |
Filling: Turn the heat down to 350F. While the crust is cooling make a filling. In a heavy saucepan combine the brown sugar, corn and maple syrup, bring the mixture to a boil, stirring, and simmer it for 5 minutes. Let the mixture cool until it is no longer bubbling, add the butter, and stir the mixture until the butter is melted. In a bowl whisk together the eggs, the vanilla, and a pinch of salt and add the syrup mixture in a slow stream, whisking. |
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1 2/3 cups pecan halves 1 1/2 cups cranberries (if frozen thawed) |
Working from the outer edge of the crust towards the middle, arrange alternate circles of pecans and cranberries (one of pecans, one of cranberries, etc) until the tart is full. Pour in the egg mixture, and if necessary tap down the pecans to coat them with the egg mixture. Bake the tart in the middle of a preheated 350F oven for 40 minutes, or until the crust is pale golden. Cool the tart for 15-20 minutes and serve it warm with vanilla ice-cream. |