Ingredients
Pastry
- 400 gplain flour
- 250 gcold butter, cubed
- 150 gsugar
- 1egg
- 1egg yolk
- a pinch of salt
- zest of 1 lemon
Filling
- 300 gsugar
- 100 mldouble cream
- 400 gwalnuts, roughly chopped
- 30 ghoney
- a pinch of salt
To glaze
- 1egg yolk
Directions
- Rub the butter into the flour, sugar, salt and lemon zest, then bring it together with the egg and yolk into a firm dough. Add no water at all.
- Chill the dough for at least 2 hours.
- For the filling, melt the sugar dry in a heavy pan over a medium heat, without stirring, until it becomes an amber caramel.
- Let the sugar melt undisturbed. Stirring a dry caramel makes it crystallise into lumps that will not melt again however long you wait.
- Take it off the heat and add the cream carefully, standing well back, because it will spit violently.
- Return it to a low heat and stir until smooth, then add the honey, walnuts and salt.
- Cool the filling completely before it goes anywhere near the pastry.
- Roll two thirds of the dough and line a 24 cm tin, taking the pastry all the way up the sides.
- Fill it with the cold caramel and walnut mixture and level the top.
- Roll the remaining dough into a lid, lay it over, and seal the edges firmly the whole way round.
- Seal it completely and prick the top. A leaking nusstorte welds itself to the tin and cannot be got out in one piece.
- Glaze with beaten egg yolk and mark the top with a fork or a pattern.
- Bake at 180°C (355°F) for 40 to 45 minutes, until deep golden.
- Cool completely in the tin and then leave it a day before cutting. It improves for a week and keeps for a month, which is exactly why mountain households made it.
Technique
- The pastry is closer to a rich shortbread than a pie crust, which is why it survives a month without going soft.
- It was developed in the Engadine in the early twentieth century by confectioners returning from work abroad.
- Cut it in small pieces. It is extremely rich and a large slice defeats most people.
Substitutions
- Hazelnuts in place of some of the walnuts.
- Golden syrup for honey, which is slightly less fragrant.
Variations
- With a splash of kirsch in the filling.
- Made as individual tartlets.
- With dark chocolate melted into the caramel.
History
Walnut and caramel tart developed in the Engadine in the early twentieth century by confectioners returning from abroad; it keeps for weeks in mountain households.
Frequently asked questions
What is Engadiner Nusstorte?
Engadiner Nusstorte is a dessert from Switzerland: shortcrust tart of caramel-walnut filling from the Engadin. Walnut and caramel tart developed in the Engadine in the early twentieth century by confectioners returning from abroad; it keeps for weeks in mountain households.
How long does Engadiner Nusstorte take to make?
Engadiner Nusstorte takes 40 min plus 2 hr chilling of preparation and 45 min of cooking. The recipe makes 1 tart, 12 servings. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Engadiner Nusstorte?
Yes, within limits. Hazelnuts in place of some of the walnuts. Golden syrup for honey, which is slightly less fragrant.
What is the most important thing to get right in Engadiner Nusstorte?
Roll the remaining dough into a lid, lay it over, and seal the edges firmly the whole way round.
