Image is for illustrative purposes only.
This is the golden syrup filling that sets around the nuts in a pecan or walnut pie. Water, caster sugar and glucose are warmed together into a smooth syrup, enriched with butter and vanilla, then whisked with whole egg so the mixture bakes to a soft, glossy set rather than a hard caramel.
On its own it tastes sweet, buttery and lightly vanillary, and it pours easily. Ladle it over a shell packed with nuts and it fills every gap, holds the nuts in place and bakes to a shiny top with a tender, slightly chewy centre. The glucose is what keeps it from crystallising and gives the filling its gloss and its soft cut.
Ingredients
The weights in the recipe table below will yield the following 'weight per unit' and 'number of units'. If you would like to change the recipe to cater to a different 'weight per unit' and/or 'number of units',
you can use the Recipe Calculator Tool below the ingredients table.
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Weight Per Unit: 563
Number of Units: 2
Unit Size: 24 cm tart shell filled with nuts
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WEIGHT
(grams)
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ALTERNATIVE METRIC
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INGREDIENT
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IMAGE
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CONDITION
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A
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35 |
1.2 fluid_ounces
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Water
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B
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300 |
6 Whole Eggs
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Whole Egg
Eggs are one of the most common ingredients in a typical cake. Egg yolks and whole eggs store significant amounts of protein and choline, and are widely used in baking. Usually an eggs role in a cake is to add moisture and richness, act as a raising agent as well as a glue to bind the ingredients together.
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room temperature |
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C
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340 |
12 ounces
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Glucose Syrup
Glucose syrup, also known as confectioner's glucose, is a syrup made from the hydrolysis of starch. Glucose is a sugar. Maize (corn) is commonly used as the source of the starch in the US, in which case the syrup is called "corn syrup", but glucose syrup is also made from potatoes and wheat, and less often from barley, rice and cassava.
Glucose syrup containing over 90% glucose is used in industrial fermentation, but syrups used in confectionery contain varying amounts of glucose, maltose and higher oligosaccharides, depending on the grade, and can typically contain 10% to 43% glucose. Glucose syrup is used in foods to sweeten, soften texture and add volume. By converting some of the glucose in corn syrup into fructose (using an enzymatic process), a sweeter product, high fructose corn syrup can be produced.
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D
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360 |
12.7 ounces
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Sugar
Sugar is the generalized name for sweet, short-chain, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. They are carbohydrates, composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. There are various types of sugar derived from different sources. Simple sugars are called monosaccharides and include glucose (also known as dextrose), fructose and galactose. The table or granulated sugar most customarily used as food is sucrose, a disaccharide. (In the body, sucrose hydrolyses into fructose and glucose.) Other disaccharides include maltose and lactose. Longer chains of sugars are called oligosaccharides. Chemically-different substances may also have a sweet taste, but are not classified as sugars. Some are used as lower-calorie food substitutes for sugar described as artificial sweeteners.
caster
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E
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75 |
2.6 ounces
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Butter
Butter is a solid dairy product made by churning fresh or fermented cream or milk, to separate the butterfat from the buttermilk. It is generally used as a spread on plain or toasted bread products and a condiment on cooked vegetables, as well as in cooking, such as baking, sauce making, and pan frying. Butter consists of butterfat, milk proteins and water.
unsalted
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diced |
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F
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15 |
1 tablespoon
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Vanilla Essence
Vanilla Extract is made with 100% pure vanilla beans. With a sweet, syrupy consistency, this Vanilla is ideal for use in icings, drinks and whipped cream as well as classic baking recipes. Vanilla Essence is commercially manufactured by chemicals and is more of a watery consistency as opposed to vanilla extract which is thicker and a lot fuller and richer in flavour. You can replace one with the other but use 50% more of essence. For example, for 1 teaspoon of extract, use 1.5 teaspoons of essence.
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1125
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Recipe Calculator Tool
Using this tool, you can alter this recipe for your own requirements. Use the two fields below to generate new weights for the ingredients above.
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Method
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STEP
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ACTION
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DETAIL
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CONDITION
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1 |
Prepare |
Have your blind-baked tart shells ready and the nuts spread evenly inside them before you start, as the syrup is best used while it is still warm and fluid. |
Shells cooled, nuts in an even layer |
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2 |
Heat |
Put A, C and D (water, glucose syrup and caster sugar) in a saucepan and warm over medium heat, stirring, until the sugar has completely dissolved. |
Syrup clear, no grains felt on the back of the spoon |
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3 |
Melt |
Take the pan off the heat and stir in E (butter) until it has melted into the syrup. |
Butter fully melted and blended in |
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4 |
Cool |
Let the syrup cool until it is only just warm to the touch, about body temperature. |
Warm, not hot — hot syrup will scramble the egg |
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5 |
Whisk |
Whisk B and F (whole egg and vanilla essence) together in a bowl, then pour the warm syrup onto the egg in a thin stream while whisking steadily. |
Smooth and even, no threads of cooked egg |
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6 |
Strain |
Pass the mixture through a fine sieve into a jug and skim off any foam from the surface. |
Clean and glossy, free of bubbles |
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7 |
Fill |
Pour the syrup over the nuts in the prepared shells, filling to just below the rim, and let it settle so it runs into all the gaps. |
Nuts floating level, surface even |
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8 |
Bake |
Bake at 170°C (340°F) until the filling is set around the edges with only a slight wobble in the centre, about 30 to 40 minutes depending on the depth of the tart. |
Top glossy and lightly coloured, centre just set |
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9 |
Cool |
Cool the tarts completely in the tin before cutting. |
Filling firm enough to slice cleanly |
Important Notes
This quantity makes about 1,125 g of syrup, enough for two 24 cm nut tarts once the shells are packed with nuts — the nuts take up a good part of the volume, so judge by filling to just below the rim rather than by weight. The glucose keeps the filling soft and stops it from crystallising, so do not swap it for extra sugar. Make sure the syrup has cooled to lukewarm before the egg goes in, or it will cook into threads. The syrup can be made a day ahead, kept covered in the fridge and brought back to room temperature and whisked smooth before using. Baked tarts keep for three to four days in an airtight container in a cool place.
Tools & Arrangements
Saucepan, whisk, heatproof mixing bowl, fine sieve, pouring jug, digital scales, blind-baked tart shells or rings, baking tray
