Lola Almas Walnut Tarts Recipes

WALNUT TART

Steps:

• In a small bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolk. Gradually add flour just until blended (mixture will be crumbly). , Press onto the bottom and up the sides of an ungreased 9-in. tart pan with removable bottom. Place pan on baking sheet. Bake at 375° for 12-14 minutes. Cool in the pan on a wire rack. , Sprinkle nuts over crust. In a small heavy saucepan, combine sugar, butter, corn syrup and 2 tablespoons of cream. Boil and stir over medium heat for 1 minute longer. Pour over walnuts. , Return pan to baking sheet. Bake at 375° for 10-12 minutes or until bubbly. Cool on a wire rack. , In a small bowl, beat remaining cream until stiff peaks form. Serve tart at room temperature with whipped cream.

SALTED CARAMEL WALNUT TART

Steps:

• Let eggs stand at room temperature 30 minutes. In a microwave, heat cream on high for 20 seconds. Keep warm. Meanwhile, in a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar and syrup, stirring frequently. Bring to a boil; cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Slowly pour cream into pan; continue stirring constantly (cream may spatter) until well blended. Gradually add butter, stirring until melted. Add vanilla and sea salt; stir until smooth. Cool., Unroll crust into a 9-in. tart pan; trim edges. Refrigerate 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 400°. Line unpricked crust with a double thickness of foil. Fill with pie weights, dried beans or uncooked rice. Bake on a lower oven rack until edges are golden brown, 10-12 minutes. Remove foil and weights; bake until bottom is golden brown, 3-5 minutes longer. Cool on a wire rack., Reduce oven setting to 350°. Whisk eggs into caramel mixture; stir in walnuts. Add filling to crust. Bake until center is just set (mixture will jiggle), 20-25 minutes. Cool completely. Refrigerate leftovers.

LITTLE ONION TARTS WITH GORGONZOLA AND WALNUTS

Steps:

• Make the pastry: Put flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Add half the butter and work it into the flour until it resembles damp sand. Add the rest of the butter cubes, the ice water and lemon juice and mix just until the dough comes together. (There will be little chunks of butter in the dough - this makes the pastry flaky.) Form dough into a disk shape, wrap in plastic and flatten to a 1-inch thickness. Refrigerate for at least an hour, or up to a day in advance.
• Make the topping: Put olive oil in a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and brown for about 5 minutes, stirring. Season generously with salt and pepper. Turn heat to medium and cook until onions are soft and well browned, about 10 minutes. Let cool to room temperature. Heat oven to 425 degrees.
• Roll out pastry to about 1/8 inch thickness. Using a cookie cutter or a glass, cut out 2-inch rounds and move them to a plate. Once you've filled the plate, transfer to the refrigerator. Reroll the scraps and continue to cut rounds, chilling as you go. You should have 24 pieces.
• Line 2 baking pans with parchment and lay 12 pastry rounds on each. Put about 1 tablespoon of the caramelized onions on each round, followed by a piece of Gorgonzola. Top each with walnut pieces. Sprinkle with a small pinch of chopped rosemary.
• Transfer to oven; bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until lightly browned. Sprinkle each tart with chives, and a speck of fleur de sel, if using. Serve warm or at room temperature.

WALNUT TART

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Tear off a piece of foil twice as large as crust. Fold it in half and smear it with butter; lay buttered side onto crust. Weight foil with a pile of dried beans or rice (these can be reused for this purpose), pie weights, or a tight-fitting ovenproof skillet or saucepan - anything that will sit flat on the surface. Bake 12 minutes, then remove foil and continue to bake at 350 degrees, until crust is a beautiful shade of brown, another few minutes. Remove and let cool on a rack while you prepare filling.
• Put sugar in a heavy 6- or 8-inch saucepan or deep skillet with a tablespoon of water and turn heat to medium. Cook, gently shaking pan occasionally, until sugar melts; then cook, stirring occasionally and scraping sides with a heat-proof flexible spatula, until mixture turns golden.
• Turn heat to low, then carefully add butter and cream. Cook, stirring constantly, until butter melts and mixture is uniform. Stir in walnuts and a large pinch of salt if you like, then spread on crust. Refrigerate for about an hour, then sprinkle with a little more salt and serve.

MUSHROOM WALNUT TARTS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 12-count muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.
• Prepare the pie crust mix according to package instructions. Evenly divide the dough into 10 pieces. Divide the dough among the cups of the muffin tin, and press into the bottom and up the sides in an even layer to form a mini crust. Refrigerate while preparing the filling.
• Heat the canola oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, garlic, thyme and onions. Season with salt and pepper. Saute until the mushrooms are golden. Set aside 10 mushroom slices to garnish the top of the tarts. Set aside 1/3 cup mushrooms and onions for Round 2 Recipe Braised Beef and Mushroom Soup.
• Add the remaining sauteed mushrooms and onions with the walnuts into the bowl of a food processor fitted with a blade attachment. Pulse to coarsely chop. Add the breadcrumbs and beef broth, and a pulse a few times to mix in.
• Spoon the mushroom and walnut mixture into the pie crusts in the muffin tin. Top each with a reserved mushroom slice. Bake until the crust is golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool in the tin about 30 minutes before carefully removing the tarts.

WALNUT CARAMEL TART

Steps:

• Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Put the flour in a food processor with the butter and sugar, and mix until it forms fine breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolk and 1-2 tbsp cold water, and pulse to make a firm dough.
• Have ready a 24cm tart tin. Briefly knead the pastry on a lightly floured surface, then roll out to a round about 5cm larger than your tin. Lift onto the tin with the help of your rolling pin, then press into the corners using your finger. Do not trim the pastry. Fill the pastry case with a round of baking parchment and baking beans. Chill for 10 mins. Blindbake for 10 mins, remove the paper and beans, then bake for 5 mins more.
• To make the filling, put the sugar in a large pan with 3 tbsp cold water. Heat gently, stirring to dissolve the sugar. When the sugar is completely dissolved, increase heat and bubble until the syrup has turned a rich caramel colour. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter until it has dissolved, then stir in the cream. Return to the heat and boil hard, stirring until the sauce is thick enough to leave a gap on the base of the pan when you draw your spoon across it. Stir in the walnuts.
• Fill the pastry case with the nut mixture, levelling it with a fork. Return to the oven for 8-10 mins until the filling is bubbling. Cool for 10 mins before removing carefully from the tin. Serve warm or cold.

MAPLE WALNUT TARTS

Steps:

• To make pastry: in a medium bowl, combine flour,sugar,salt and baking powder.
• Cut in butter or margarine and shortening until mixture is crumbly.
• Add water, 2 tbsp at a time, mixing with a fork; add a little more or less than the 1/2 c water as needed.
• Press mixture into 2 flat disks, wrap in wax paper and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• To make filling: beat together eggs, syrup, brown sugar, melted butter or margarine and vanilla until just blended.
• On a lightly floured board, roll pastry disks to 1/16" thick.
• Cut into 5 inch circles. Roll scraps of dough and cut again. Line 12-3 inch tart pans with pastry. Divide walnuts equally between tart shells. Pour maple syrup mixture over walnuts. Bake at 425°F for 20-25 minutes, or until pastry is golden and filling is soft set. Let stand 15 minutes befire removing from tart pans.

LOLA ALMA'S WALNUT TARTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• FOR CRUST: Mix first three ingredients. This can be refrigerated if you'd like to make ahead.
• Place dough into smallest cupcake containers. Make sure the crusts reach to the top.
• FOR FILLING: Mix remaining ingredients together.
• Place filling into the crust.
• Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.