Francois Payard’s Chocolate Pecan Tart

Yield: 10 servings

Special Equipment 9-inch flat tart tin, mixing bowl with a whisk attachment, piping bag, sauce pot

Tart

Take some sugar dough (See Base Recipes) and roll it to ¼ inch thick. Take the tart ring and line the bottom and the sides. Trim the sides to make it even and clean and place it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to rest.  Store in fridge till ready to use.

Filling

• 25 g     flour (1/4 cup)
• 220 g   eggs (8 oz) 4 eggs
• 340 g   corn syrup (1 cup plus 3 tablespoons)
• 150 g   brown sugar (5 ½ oz) ¾ c.
• Pinch of salt
• 180 g   melted butter (6 ½ oz) 1 stick + 5Tbs.

Place the flour, eggs, corn syrup, brown sugar and salt in a mixer with the paddle attachment. Beat the mixture on medium speed until well combined. Melt the butter and add it to the mixture.

* Filling can be made up to 2 days in advance, just be sure to whisk well to combine.

Candied Pecans

• 60 g     water (1/4 cup)
• 60 g     sugar (1/3c)
• 125 g   whole pecan halves (1½ cup)

Boil the water and the sugar together to make a simple syrup (See Base Recipes). Place the pecans in a bowl and toss with the syrup. Place on a sheet pan and bake for five-minute segments in an oven set at 350F or until the pecans are candied and golden brown.

Assembly

            ½ cup Chocolate Chips

Place candied pecans and the chocolate chips into the tart shell. Pour the pecan mix onto the nut mixture, about ¾ full. Pour the pecan mix in the tart to fill and bake for about 30 min in an oven set at 350 F. The tart shell should have a golden color and the filling should be still soft in the middle. Remove the tart from the oven and set it aside to cool. Serve warm with ice cream.