Macadamia Tart

Byron Bay Cookbook

recipe by The Macadamia Castle

Macadamia harvest season is upon us and I thought I share this macadamia recipe with you. Featuring an abundance of Macadamias, caramelised and also nutty. Perfect for an Autumn Byron afternoon with a freshly made cup of tea. The Macadamia Castle gave me this delicious recipe. Also a great place to visit, have lunch and let the kids play with the animals. Because of its easy location on the highway it is a fun stop for the whole family.

The Macadamia recipe can be found in the Byron Bay Cookbook, Bestselling Edition.

Macadamia Caramelised Nut Tart from the Macadamia Castle

MAKES 1 TART

Pastry base
38g desiccated coconut 38g almond meal
100g plain our, sifted 100g SR our, sifted 125g butter, softened 125g caster sugar
1 egg
1⁄2 tsp vanilla essence
Almond cream
85g butter, softened 85g caster sugar
1 whole egg and 1 yolk, beaten
20ml rum
85g almond meal
12g corn our
Topping
230g whole macadamias 125g walnuts halves 160g almond kernels
Caramel sauce
100g caster sugar 100g golden syrup 100ml milk
100ml pure cream
In a bowl mix together all dry ingredients except the caster sugar for the base.
Cream the butter and caster sugar in a mixing bowl and beat till creamy, then add egg and vanilla and beat in well.
Add the dry mixture a little at a time and mix well. Knead the dough into a ball and wrap with cling- lm, place in the fridge for at least 15 minutes.
To prepare the almond cream lling, cream the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl well with hand beaters.
Add beaten egg, yolk and rum a little at a time and mix well, add almond meal and corn our and mix well.
Preheat the oven to 170°C.
Bring the dough to room temperature and spray a 28cm uted tart tin well with canola spray.
Roll out base evenly to thickness of about 5mm and place carefully into prepared tart tin, trimming edges neatly.
Spike base all over with a fork and chill for 10 minutes. Then place in the preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes. Allow to cool completely, before spreading almond cream over base and bake a further 25 minutes. Leave to cool before adding topping.
Bake nuts for topping in single layer in a baking tray at 170°C for 20 minutes or until lightly browned.
To make the caramel sauce, put the sugar, syrup, milk and cream in a saucepan and cook on low heat for approximately 10 minutes, stirring until mixed then stir occasionally till thick. (HINT: The caramel is ready when the bottom of the saucepan is still visible after a spatula is swept from one side to the other).
Remove from the heat and place roasted nuts into caramel and gently mix, coating the nuts.
Gently pour caramel nuts over base of the tart, arranging with wet fingers as you go. Allow the tart to cool in the fridge completely before slicing and serving.

Macadamia’s come in a variety of sizes. First of all the largest nuts more often used for dipping in gorgeous chocolate. Furthermore smaller nuts are often used to chop to smaller bits, to use in various cakes. Another use of Macadamias is to grind them to a meal and use in soups as a thickener. In conclusion macadamia nuts can be used in more than one way.  Above images compares three different sizes of macadamia nuts.