The Recipe Perfected Through Trial and Error
This is the undeniably best walnut tart recipe. It is better than any I have ever baked or bought.
If you desire a complex and sophisticated flavor rather than a plain, sweet, and sticky pecan pie style, you must try this.
Background: Why Did I Seek a New Recipe?
- America’s Test Kitchen (ATK) does have a walnut tart recipe, but it’s practically a pecan pie, making it too sweet and sticky
- To reproduce what I have enjoyed in Korea, I have tried several Korean recipes I found online, but they were largely indistinguishable, differing only slightly in ratios.
- I also saw the NYT recipe, which involves dissolving sugar to make caramel and then mixing it with cream, but I didn’t try it, fearing it would be too heavy and sweet.
Then, I stumbled upon this recipe 👇
🔗 YouTube Recipe (starts at 14:30)
Unlike the traditional caramel + cream method, it adds egg yolks, butter, and even apple cider vinegar, to cut through the richness and deepen the flavor. Brilliant.
🧁 Records of Failure and Success
🥧 Attempt 1
- Followed the recipe exactly
- Problem: The tart shell crumbled, and a lingering taste of vinegar was unpleasant.
- Nevertheless, the complex and deep flavor was impressive, leading to a decision to retry.
🥧 Attempt 2
- Reduced vinegar to 1/3 → much smoother, more balanced flavor.
- Used half the whole wheat flour in the shell, but it still crumbled.
- After some research, I found that trusted tart recipes rarely use whole wheat flour.
🥧 Attempt 3
- Same filling as Attempt 2
- Switched to a classic Pâte Sucrée for the tart shell → successfully held together
- Downside: The shell’s sweetness felt slightly separate from the filling
🥧 Attempt 4 ✅ Breakthrough!
- Used a recipe that mixes almond flour into the shell (Pâte Sucrée aux Amandes)
- The nuttiness was enhanced, and the sweetness blended naturally.
- Followed the ATK chocolate tart recipe.
- When making caramel, I have browned the melted butter before adding other ingredients.
- This created a rich, Scotch candy–like depth of flavor
📌 Final Recipe Summary
🍯 Tart Filling
- Original recipe: 🔗 Milk Street French Walnut Tart
- Modifications
- Apple cider vinegar: 1 tablespoon → 1 teaspoon (reduced to 1/3)
- Browned melted butter before adding other ingredients.
🧈 Tart Shell
- Use shell recipe from 🔗 ATK Rich Chocolate Tart
- Used as is (No modification)
🔧 Optional Tip
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You can use a pie shield to prevent the shell’s edges from burning. The taste isn’t significantly different without it, but it improves presentation.
📝 Closing Thoughts
Through all these trials and tweaks, I’ve finally created a walnut tart I’ll never forget.
After attempting various baking projects, I started to develop an intuition for what needed to be changed when the desired result wasn’t achieved. Through that trial-and-error, my own unique recipe, which cannot be found anywhere else, was born, and I wanted to share this joy with you.
💬 If you have any questions or feedback, please leave a comment!
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