The Perfect (but easy) Pecan Tart

Are you tired of serving the same pecan pie over and over again? Do you want to give your pecan pie a little makeover but you don’t want to make a lot of effort? Don’t worry, today I will share with you a recipe that is perfect, easy to make, and has an amazing twist to the traditional dessert that you will all love.

What makes this Pecan Tart perfect?

Luscious, gooey pecan filling on a buttery tart, served with vanilla ice cream. I mean, doesn’t it sound yummy? This Perfect Pecan Tart is a mouth-watering tart enriched with caramelly toasted pecans that sit on a buttery tart shell topped with vanilla ice cream.

Like most pecan pie, this Pecan Tart has also traditional ingredients such as eggs, butter, and pecans that are covered with delicious caramel made from dark brown sugar, corn, and maple syrup. The twist is replacing the pie crust with a tart shell and topping the dessert with vanilla ice cream to balance overall flavor and texture.

I created a perfect tart shell recipe that is solid and can hold up the liquid filling, you won’t end up with a wet and soggy crust. And even if it’s solid, it crumbles in your mouth when eaten because of the tart’s buttery and cookie-like consistency.

Here’s all you need to make the Perfect Pecan Tart:

TART SHELL

Butter

Icing sugar

Egg

Flour

Almond flour

PECAN FILLING

Pecans

Eggs

Corn syrup

Maple syrup

Dark brown sugar

Vanilla extract

Butter

GARNISHING

Icing sugar

Whole, toasted pecans

Vanilla ice cream

Instructions:

To make the tart shell, place butter, and icing sugar in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Turn the power to a low setting and start mixing everything until smooth and with no lumps. Add eggs and mix it just enough to break the eggs. No need to whip it.

Add all-purpose flour and almond flour. Continue to mix everything at a low speed. All in all, this should only take 3 minutes or even less. If you see that the ingredients are not well incorporated, you can continue mixing by hand or spatula. It’s important not to overwork the dough, otherwise, you might end up with a hard tart shell instead of a crumbly one which is what we’re aiming for. Wrap the dough with plastic wrap and form it into a disk so it’s easy to roll later. Place the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes or until the dough is firm. 

Sprinkle some flour onto your work surface and roll the pin across the dough gently. If you feel like the dough is getting soft that means the butter is melting and you need to firm it up in the fridge for a couple more minutes. Then continue rolling it. Again, make sure not to overwork this dough. The thickness should be about 2-3 mm. And should fit a 12-inch round tart pan. I advise you to use a tart pan that has a removable bottom.

Transfer the dough onto the tart pan by lifting the dough carefully using a rolling pin. Gently press the sides of the pan using your fingers. You can use a rolling pin by rolling it over the tart pan to remove excess dough that is hanging out. Or, you can place it in the fridge to firm up a little bit and use a sharp knife to cut clean the excess dough. You need to keep it in the fridge to firm up so that when you bake it, it won’t shrink down.

Blind baking:

Place a crumpled parchment paper over it and add pie weights. Bake at 160’C for 12 minutes.

Remove the pie weights and brush the insides of the tart shell with a scrambled egg yolk mixed with vanilla extract. Place it back in the oven and continue to bake it for 3 more minutes. The egg wash will serve as a coating for the tart shell. This coating will keep the tart shell from being soggy cause of the filling. 

After it’s baked, keep the tart shell in its pan and start making the filling.

To make this easy Pecan Filling, simply whisk corn syrup, brown sugar, maple syrup, eggs, vanilla extract, and butter until well combined.

Spread the pecan nuts onto the tart shell and pour the liquid mixture over it. Gently shake the tart pan to make sure the filling is even.

Bake at 160 for 25-30 minutes with the fan setting. Keep it in the tart pan and let it cool for 30 minutes on a cooling rack.

Remove the pecan tart from the pan carefully. Dust the edges of the tart with some icing sugar and dust some as well onto a few pieces of whole pecans. Use them to decorate the Pecan Tart as you like.

Cut them into slices and serve them with vanilla ice cream.

Did you make this recipe?

Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and tag @missconfections on Instagram and hashtag it #missconfections.