How to say "I love you" with Macadamia Nuts

It wasn't a "real" birthday cake. My sister makes those. She has deftly mastered the goopy batter, toothpick-testing, layering, and messy icing demanded by real birthday cakes. The finished masterpieces are always impressive. I dare say that the dark chocolate and blackberry groom's cake she made for my wedding reception out-performed the professionally made bride's cake.

I just didn't get that cake-making gene. Sure, I can make a virgin cheesecake, but a birthday cake, well, that's a different sort of creature all together. So when I started planning a birthday dinner for my mom, I knew that buttering and flouring cake tins would not be in the works. I wanted something vaguely cake-like...birthday chocolate mousse, for example, just won't do. A bit of rummaging through the bulging "dessert" section of my "Recipes to make or make again" accordion folder turned up a promising contender: chocolate macadamia nut tart.

It's a minor dessert miracle, really. Although you just mix all of the filling ingredients together and dump them into the crust-lined tart pan, this beauty emerges with a secret layer of fudgy chocolate hiding beneath the golden macadamia nut-studded exterior. And, oh, the macadamia nuts. What other nuts say, I love you, like macadamia nuts?

My mom likened this dessert to a giant round candy bar. Some would, therefore, conclude that it is best enjoyed in small slivers. Not my husband. I believe he had four largish helpings within a twenty-four hour period, and that only counting the times I actually witnessed him with a slice on his plate. Dessert certainly received more "ooohs" and "mmmms" than the seared scallops with grapes and toasted almonds I served before it. That recipe will not be finding its way back into my accordion folder. But this tart is there to stay.

I always find making my own tart crust so much less grueling than I imagine it will be. The pastry dough for this tart is pretty manageable, as long it has time to chill in the refrigerator before being rolled out. And the recipe makes double what you need, so whipping up the next specimen will be even easier.

Chocolate Macadamia Nut Tart
slightly adapted from the version in Martha Stewart's Desserts:

all-purpose flour for rolling out dough
1/2 recipe pastry dough (recipe to follow)
2 large eggs
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 and 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
2 and 1/2 cups unsalted whole macadamia nuts

Pastry Dough
2 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
2 large egg yolks

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll the pastry dough into a circle large enough to fit your tart pan (I used a 9 inch pan, so I rolled the dough to about 12 inches). Trim pastry evenly along the edges, making sure that the dough is pressed fully into the curves of the pan that make the crust so pretty. Chill for 30 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, sugars, and vanilla until combined. Whisk in flour and salt, then the butter. Stir in the chocolate. Pour mixture into the chilled tart shell. Cover the top with macadamia nuts, pressing them halfway down into the filling.
3. Bake 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking until crust and nuts turn golden, between 35 and 45 minutes. If the tart starts to get too brown, cover it with aluminum foil for the rest of the cooking time. Transfer tart to wire rack to cool.

For pastry dough:
1. In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour and sugar. Add butter, and process until mixture resembles coarse meal, 10 to 20 seconds.
2. In a small bowl, lightly beat egg yolks; add 1/4 cup ice water. With the machine running, add the egg mixture is a slow stream through the feed tube. Pulse until dough holds together without being wet or sticky. This should not take more than 30 seconds. If dough is still crumbly, add a bit of ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
3. Divide dough into two equal balls. Flatten each ball into a disk, and wrap in plastic. Transfer to the refrigerator, and chill at least one hour. Dough may be stored frozen for up to 1 month.