Salted-caramel macadamia tart with chocolate ganache

SERVES 8-10 // PREP TIME 20 MINS // COOK 30 MINS (PLUS RESTING, CHILLING)

This tart is made with pâte brisée, a shortcrust pastry that works for sweet or savoury preparations. It’s not a sweet pastry, so it balances the sweetness of the caramel.

200 gm roasted macadamia

nuts, coarsely chopped 1 eggwhite, beaten, for brushing

Sea salt flakes, to serve

PÂTE BRISÉE

250 gm (1⅔ cups) plain flour

Pinch of caster sugar

125 gm chilled butter, diced 1 egg, plus 1 beaten eggwhite for brushing

SALTED CARAMEL

200 gm caster sugar

120 ml heavy cream (45% fat) 100 gm chilled unsalted butter, diced

CHOCOLATE GANACHE

300 gm dark chocolate (53%-60% cocoa solids), finely chopped

30 gm butter

250 ml (1 cup) pouring cream

1 tbsp liquid glucose

1 For pâte brisée, place flour on a work surface, add sugar and butter and rub in butter with your fingertips until coarse crumbs form. Add egg, 2 tbsp cold iced water and a pinch of salt and lightly knead with the heel of your hand until the pastry just comes together. Flatten into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate to rest (2 hours). Knead briefly to bring pastry together, then roll out to a 32cm round on a lightly floured surface and line a 24cm-diameter loosebottomed fluted tart tin and refrigerate to rest (1 hour).

2 Preheat oven to 190°C. Blind-bake tart until golden on the edges (18-20 minutes; see cook’s notes p168), remove paper and weights and bake until golden and crisp

(8-12 minutes). Brush base with eggwhite, bake for 1 minute to seal, then remove from oven and scatter macadamia nuts evenly over the base.

3 For salted caramel, stir sugar and 60ml water in a saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves, then brush down edges of pan with a wet pastry brush to remove sugar crystals and cook, without stirring but swirling often when it starts to colour, until a golden-amber caramel forms (10-14 minutes). Add cream (be careful, hot caramel will spit), and stir until it comes together. Remove from heat and stir through butter and 1 tsp salt. Pour into the tart shell and refrigerate to cool (30-40 minutes; see note).

4 For chocolate ganache, place chocolate and butter in a large heatproof bowl and set aside. Bring cream and glucose to the boil in a saucepan, then pour over the chocolate, stirring to melt and combine. Remove from heat and allow to cool, stirring occasionally, until glossy (15 minutes). Pour the ganache over the salted caramel, then refrigerate or stand in a cool place until set (1 hour). Serve with flakes of sea salt scattered on top.

Note If the weather is cool and dry, the tart can sit out to set; it will take about 2 hours.