Caramel Walnut Tarts

Caramel Walnut Tarts


Little bites of delicious caramel and walnuts in a pâte sucrée (sweet shortcrust pastry). 

Caramel is my favourite in any form. I created this very simple and elegant sweet treat for a high tea I had to prepare last month; it was most appreciated and well received. 

You can make your own pastry and caramel. But if you prefer, you can buy it all at a good delicatessen and simply put it together. Store it in a box for up to 3 days. Do not refrigerate as it will get hard.

Serve with vanilla bean ice cream or warm spiced ice cream, such as cinnamon, cardamom, or star anise.

In a pan, make the caramel.

On a medium-high flame, melt

1 1/4 cup sugar

Swirl over the heat until the colour is beautifully amber.

Remove from the fire and add 1 cup of cream over the caramel. This will splatter, so be careful.

Add 1 tsp coarse sea salt

1 tbsp of Tahitian vanilla extract

Optionally add 2 tbsp Rum

Mix in this - 1 cup broken bits of walnuts

Pastry

This will fit a 25 cm/ 10-inch pie plate with about a third to spare.

In a food processor, using the pulse button, mix until it forms a soft ball, leaving the side of the bowl.

Do not overwork. Put it on a flat surface and bring it together with your hands.

2 1/2 cups flour

1/4 tsp salt

200 g/ 7 1/2 oz salted butter

100 g / 3 1/2 oz icing sugar

2 egg yolks

1 tsp vanilla extract

optionally 1 tsp fresh lemon juice

Let this stand for 20 to 30 minutes. Roll out the dough and fit it into a pie plate. (You may have some dough left over for a smaller pie). In a preheated oven of 175 C | 350 F, bake this for 22 minutes. It should be slightly golden in colour and should be completely baked.

Let it cool.

Tips

Fill in with 48 mini tart pies or a large pie crust that has been baked and is ready to eat.

Keep the extra pastry for smaller pie shells. Freeze it wrapped in cling film. Put it in the fridge for 24 hours before reusing it for the perfect consistency.

To make caramel the easy way, you can melt 1 1/2 cups of your favourite toffee with 1/2 cup of cream, adding a little cream at a time until it is perfectly mixed.

Add a drop of vanilla extract and rum for added flavour.

The World of Parsi Cooking: Food Across Borders is a 3 award winning book. It has been self published in July 2019 and will be going into its second print in 2022. 

The Art of Parsi Cooking; reviving an ancient cuisine was published in 2016 by Austin Macauley and continues to be available through amazon book depot book depository and from the publishers.

Photo courtesy Niloufer Mavalvala 

For more recipes of dessert and more click

Niloufer's Kitchen: French Bistro from read.amazon.com.

Goat cheese Tart

Goat Cheese and Mushroom Tart


This is a delicate sunday brunch dish which I enjoyed last weekend at a local vineyard and have made my version of it. Getting a big thumbs up from my family at home I hope you all enjoy it just as much. It can be made into one large one to share, many smaller ones or even use served filled in vol au vents if you are fearful of  working with a  puff pastry sheet. The choice is yours. 

1 tbsp olive oil
1 lb/500 gms mixed mushrooms+ 6 mushrooms to decorate
200 gms crumbled goat cheese
6 green spring onions, very finely chopped
6 tbsp cream
3 tbsp sherry
1/2 tsp salt
pinch of brown sugar
freshly cracked mixed pepper corns
6 eggs + oil to fry in
watercress/basil or fresh herb to top
One sheet puff pastry rolled out cut into 6 squares ( approx 11x9/27X23 or larger)

In a bowl heat the oil and cook the mushrooms, add the sherry and the salt, sugar and pepper.
Allow all the liquid to evaporate completely.
Remove from fire and add the green spring onions, saute for another minutes and then add the cream and goat cheese. Cover and keep aside.
This will melt the crumbled goat cheese and keep it warm. 
Take each piece of pastry and fold in the edges very slightly to make it have edges. 
Brush each one with either egg white or milk or cream.
Preheat the oven to 400 F/190 C degrees. Bake the puff pastry for 15 minutes until golden and cooked through.
Divide all the mushroom mixture on the 6 puff pastry. Top with a fry egg and water cress and serve immediately.
This cannot be reheated.

Tips
Use a mix of wild mushrooms, Keep about 6 whole mushrooms aside slice them large to decorate and saute them separately in another pan if you prefer.
You can use one small leek instead of the green onions if you prefer.
Keep the eggs at room temperature for best results. If you do not like fried eggs, try them poached or make soft boiled eggs and slice them They should NOT be hard but soft moist centers oozing with yummy egg yolk done just right to perfection!

For more delicious recipes click
Niloufer's Kitchen: French Bistro
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00J2KMB4C

For more recipes with mushrooms on my blog click
Melange of Mushroom and Spinach topped with eggs
Mushroom Cobblers
Mushroom Filo Cups
Mushroom Crepes
Mushrooms

Read more about  Niloufer's Kitchen in the Huffington Post Bloggers Club. Simply The French In My Food.

Readers Comments
October 11th 2017
Tanaz Behrana Congrats Nilou! there are quite a few I have enjoyed. To name a few that I make quite often is the Goat cheese Tart, corn kuku-paka, the khichri sauce which always turns out so good, the papeta nu gosh (delish). Keep posting to please our tummies :)