Author Notes: Since moving out of New England 11 years ago, my husband has sorely missed ready availability of his most favored ice cream flavor: maple walnut. I adapted this tart recipe from an old Good Housekeeping angel pecan pie recipe to help him bide the time between visits home.
(Note: Making the crust ahead and storing it overnight in the fridge, gives it a slightly chewy texture that balances the silky whipped cream very nicely.)
—cheese1227
Food52 Review: WHO: cheese1227 is a food writer and lifelong student of the culinary arts.
WHAT: A tart of maple-kissed whipped cream with a meringue crust, topped with candied walnuts.
HOW: A modular cooking process — whip up and bake the meringue, then fill with maple cream at your convenience — makes this tart perfect for a busy day.
WHY WE LOVE IT: Pastry crust is fine and dandy, but the unique shell for this tart, with its walnuts and crushed soda crackers, is more than just a holding pen for its filling. —The Editors
Makes: one 8 x 11 inch rectangular tart
Ingredients
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½ cups granulated maple sugar
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½ cups white sugar
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3 large egg whites at room temperature
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1/8 teaspoon salt
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1/2 cup good quality New England maple syrup, divided
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¾ cups chopped walnuts, toasted
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¾ cups unsalted soda crackers, crushed
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1 teaspoon baking powder
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16 intact walnut halves
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1 cup heavy whipping cream
Directions
- Preheat oven at 350 degrees F. Butter the bottom and sides of a rectangular tart pan. A large round one will work too. But regardless of its shape, it’s best to have a removable bottomed pan.
- Combine white and maple sugars in a small bowl. Put egg whites and salt in a large mixing bowl and beat them together at high speed until you get soft peaks. Keep whipping them as you slowly add the sugar, two tablespoons at a time until the cup of sugar is fully incorporated and egg you’ve got glossy peaks. Slowly mix in two tablespoons of maple syrup. Fold in the chopped walnuts, crushed soda crackers and baking powder. Spread the mixture into the prepared tart pan, taking care to make the sides high, so that there is good indentation in the middle to hold the maple whipped cream for service.
- Bake the shell 25-35 minutes or until the meringue is golden but not brown. Remove from the oven, and cool completely. Refrigerate the shell at least two hours (preferably overnight if you’ve got the time).
- Meanwhile, put ¼ cup of maple syrup in a non-stick skillet and add the walnut halves, coating them with syrup. Using a medium-high flame, heat up the mixture, letting the syrup bubble up around the nuts. When the syrup is caramelized and very sticky and the nuts are coated, they are sufficiently candies. Lift the nuts out of the pan one at a time to let them cool separately on waxed paper or a Silpat mat. When they are cooled completely, store them in an air tight container.
- When you are ready to serve the tart, whip the cream to soft peaks. Add 4 Tablespoons of maple syrup and whip the cream a bit more. Spread the cream in the meringue cavity. Top with the candied walnuts and serve. This does keep well in the fridge for several hours.
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Photo by James Ransom
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The lineup is simple enough: heavy cream, white and maple sugar, walnuts, egg whites, and soda crackers. Oh, and maple syrup!
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Merrill uses her hands to separate egg whites into the Kitchenaid bowl.
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Maple sugar adds an extra kick of flavor to the tart's shell.
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When the whipped cream starts to get soft peaks, it's time to add the mixed sugars two tablespoons at a time.
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Meanwhile, Amanda uses her beloved meat pounder to pulverize some innocent crackers.
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Total (cracker) annihilation!
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Merrill checks to see if the whipped cream's glossy peaks pass muster as Amanda studiously looks on.
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Time to add in the maple syrup!
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Already, the meringue looks good enough to eat.
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Save your prettiest walnut halves for later on in this recipe — the first batch just gets chopped.
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It's time for the mix-ins, starting with the walnuts.
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Cracker crumbs and baking powder join the party…
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…then you fold it all in.
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The tart pan gets buttered up until it shines.
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No, that's not a pavlova, it's a tart crust!
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Amanda expertly finishes the crust while Merrill cleans up a bit.
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Just a half hour later, we pulled this beautifully golden-brown crackly shell out of the oven.
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Now for the candied nuts! It only took a few minutes of simmering for these whole walnut halves to make friends with the maple syrup.
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We poured them out on parchment paper to cool.
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Amanda dons a kitchen-towel bib to whip cream by hand, slowly drizzling in maple syrup.
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The finished cream gets poured into the refrigerated tart shell.
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All it takes is a quick topping with those candied walnuts — spread them evenly so everyone gets some!
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And that's it.
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We love a generous slice of pie.
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