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Rosemary pine nut tart

Honey Pine Nut Tart

This is a seriously gourmet dessert with an incredible combination of flavors. Rich, buttery pine nuts, light floral, clover honey and an herby rosemary are very well balanced in this unique nut tart.
4.86 from 28 votes
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Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings: 12 servings
Calories: 699kcal
Author: Dahn Boquist

Ingredients

Almond Pine Nut Crust

  • ½ cup pine nuts 70 grams
  • ½ cup almonds 70 grams
  • 3 tablespoons granulated sugar 13 grams
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1-½ cups flour 180 grams
  • ½ cup cold butter 8 tablespoons cut into cubes
  • 1 egg

Filling

  • 2 cups pine nuts 280 grams
  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
  • 1 cup granulated sugar 200 grams
  • 1 cup clover honey 340 grams
  • 2 tablespoon dark molasses 40 grams
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 eggs

Rosemary Cream

  • 1-½ cups heavy cream
  • 2 sprigs rosemary
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 to 3 teaspoons confectioners' sugar

Rosemary Garnish

  • 1 egg white
  • 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
  • 3 tablespoons bakers sugar*

Instructions

Almond Pine Nut Crust

  • Place the pine nuts, almonds, sugar, rosemary and salt in a food processor and process until it is the consistency of sand. Combine the flour and process in pulses until it is well blended. Add the butter and pulse 10 to 12 times until the butter is incorporated. Add the egg and pulse a few more times to blend it in. The dough will appear dry and loose but when you pinch it, it will stick together in a clump.
  • Spray an 11 inch tart pan and place the tart pan on a cookie sheet. Dump the crust mixture into the tart pan and spread it out. It will look like it is too much dough but once it is pressed down it will be a perfect fit. Using the back of a measuring cup, push the crumbs down into the bottom of the pan and up the sides. Prick the bottom of the dough with a fork and cover it with plastic wrap then place in the freezer for 20 to 30 minutes.
  • Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  • Place some parchment paper over the dough and fill it with dried beans or pie weights. Place the tart (still on the cookie sheet) in the oven. Bake for 25 minutes, remove the parchment paper and weights then return it to the oven and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let it cool completely.

Filling

  • Spread the pine nuts on a baking sheet and slide it in the oven (the oven should still be set at 350°) Toast the pine nuts for 5 to 6 minutes until they just start to turn light brown. Watch them closely as they will burn quite quickly if you leave them in just a little too long. Once browned, remove from the oven and set aside for later.
  • Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring frequently for about 10 minutes. It will get foamy then start to turn a golden brown color and smell nutty. Remove from the heat, stir in the chopped rosemary and set aside for later (the hot butter will foam up again when you stir in the rosemary).
  • In a mixing bowl, combine the sugar, honey, molasses, salt vanilla and eggs. Whisk on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the brown butter then the pine nuts.
  • Pour the filling into the cooled tart pan, cover the edges of the crust with tin foil to prevent over-browning and bake for about 35 to 40 minutes. The filling will be a light golden brown and the center will be slightly jiggly but will firm up when it cools. If you have an instant read thermometer the center of the filling should be at 185°F. If you don't have an instant read thermometer, a knife inserted in the center should come out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool on a baking rack.

Rosemary Cream

  • In a small saucepan, bring 1/2 cup of cream to a gentle simmer then remove it from the heat and stir in the rosemary sprigs. Cover the pan and let it sit at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes to infuse the rosemary into the cream.
  • Remove the rosemary sprigs and add the rosemary infused cream to the remaining 1 cup of cream in a medium mixing bowl. Set in the fridge until the cream is cold (you can speed the process up by placing it in the freezer and stirring it every 5 minutes)
  • Add the vanilla extract and confectioners sugar to the cream and whip on medium high speed until soft peaks form.

Rosemary Garnish

  • Whisk the egg white until foamy then dip the sprigs of rosemary into the egg white to coat it. Sprinkle the sugar over the rosemary and set it on a towel to dry. Once it is dry, garnish the tart with it and serve with the rosemary cream.

Notes

  • Browning the butter adds a more complex and nutty flavor to the filling. It’s easy to burn the butter once it starts to turn brown so watch it closely when you see the color change and remove it from the heat right away.
  • A tart pan has a removable bottom that pushes up if you hold it on the bottom. To prevent loosing the tart to the kitchen floor, place the pan on a cookie sheet. This will make handling the tart easier and the cookie sheet will catch any spills if the tart bubbles over.
  • You can rinse off the the rosemary sprigs that you use for the cream and recycle them for the garnish.
  • Bakers sugar is an ultra-fine granulated sugar, you can substitute with regular granulated sugar if you like.
  • Hot cream will not whip so make certain to give the cream a good chill after you infuse it with the rosemary.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 | Calories: 699kcal | Carbohydrates: 68g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 46g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 25g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 126mg | Sodium: 424mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 52g