Walnut Day is celebrated in the United States on May 17 every year
Caramelised walnut tart
Do you know, researchers say that consuming half a cup of walnut per day may help protect the digestive system by increasing the amount of probiotic bacteria in the gut and ward off risks of heart and brain disease as well as cancer. Walnut Day is celebrated in the United States on May 17 every year. On the ocassion, here are some walnut based recipes you can make at home.
Caramelised Walnut Tart
Tart Dough
200g All purpose flour
120g Butter
50g caster sugar
35g egg yolk
Filling
200g caster sugar
100g butter
200g heavy cream
200g walnuts
Method
- Heat oven to 190C. Put the flour in a food processor with the butter and sugar, and mix until it forms fine Sandy texture. Add the egg yolk and 1-2 tbsp cold water, and pulse to make a firm dough.
- Have a 10 inch tart ring ready. 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. Trim the pastry with a knife. 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 to a 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, stirring until the
- caramel sauce is thick. 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.
Coffee Walnut Cake
Coffee Walnut Cake
Sponge
250g Butter
100ml Strong coffee shot
250g Self Raising Flour
200g Caster sugar
2g Baking powder
4 eggs
5g vanilla extract
100g walnuts, chopped
Filling
100g sifted icing sugar
150g heavy cream
100g mascarpone
Method
- Heat oven to 180C. 2 x 8 inch round cake tins and line with baking parchment. Set aside 15ml of the coffee for the filling.
- Beat the butter, flour, sugar, baking powder, eggs, vanilla and half the remaining coffee in a large bowl with a whisk until lump-free. Fold in the finely chopped walnuts, then divide between the tins and roughly spread. Scatter the roughly chopped walnuts over one of the cakes. Bake the cakes for 25-30 mins until golden , and a skewer poked in comes out clean. Drizzle the plain cake with the remaining coffee. Cool the cakes.
- Meanwhile, make the filling: beat together the icing sugar, cream and mascarpone, then fold in the reserved 2 tbsp coffee. Spread over the plain cake, then cover with the walnut-topped cake and dust with a little icing sugar.
Apple, pear and walnut crumble
500g Apples
Zest of 1 lemon, lemon juice as well
30g brown sugar
500g pear
Crumble
100g walnuts
175g all purpose flour
85g butter
85g caster sugar
Method
- Heat oven to 190C. Put the chopped apples, lemon zest and sugar in a saucepan. Add the lemon juice and cook for 3-4 mins. Tip in the pears and cook 2-3 mins more, until the fruits are just beginning to soften. Spoon the fruits and juices into a pudding dish and flatten slightly.
- For the crumble, finely chop half the walnuts in a food processor until reduced to the consistency of ground almonds. Add the flour, butter and sugar and continue to blitz to a coarse or fine crumble mix.
- Roughly break the remaining walnuts with your fingers and stir into the crumble. Scatter the crumble mix on top of the fruits and bake for 20-25 mins until golden brown.
- Serve warm with ice-cream.
- Recipes by Dhawal Shah, Chief Patisserie, The Dessert Street.
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