Chocolate Macadamia Nut Tart

5 from 6 votes

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This Chocolate Macadamia Nut Tart has a buttery pastry shell filled with macadamia nuts, a caramel filling studded with chunks of ginger all topped with a chocolate ganache. Now this should impress any dinner guest!

slice of macadamia nut tart with chocolate ganache topping

Chocolate Macadamia Nut Tart

Let me start with saying this is one decadent macadamia nut filling.

This Chocolate Macadamia Nut Tart is a sensory delight as the crunch of the rich macadamia mingles with the warm, gooey caramel studded with chunks of ginger while topped with a beautiful chocolate ganache.

  • Where are macadamia nuts from? Actually there are an indigenous tree to Australia, but everyone seems to think they hail from Hawaii due to commercial production concentrated there.
  • What do macadamia nuts taste like? When roasted they develop an almost buttery flavor, are crunchy and come salted and unsalted.
  • Are macadamia nuts healthy? For years they had a really bad reputation because they are high in fat, but it’s monounsaturated fat, the heart friendly kind, which actually lowers cholesterol, heart disease and strokes!

This Chocolate Macadamia Nut Tart has a buttery pastry shell filled with macadamia nuts, a caramel filling studded with chunks of ginger all topped with a chocolate ganache. keviniscooking.com

Chocolate Macadamia Nut Tart Shell

A large 11″ tart shell is fine and can feed 12 guests no problem, but I often times have used individual tart shells for a more personalized dessert.

Also, instead of making the tart shell and if pressed for time, you can always use ReadyCrust graham cracker pie crusts in their own aluminum trays.

Speaking of the crust, I like to melt the butter and add it to the flour instead of working in chunks of cold butter. The pastry dough is a French Pastry Dough and it’s a little trick I picked up from David Lebovitz and makes for a quick and easy way to line the tart shell. Watch my video below to see how easy!

What is French Pastry Dough?

French Pastry Dough, or French Tart Dough, is made by adding the flour to almost browned, melted butter and water and then formed into a shell or pie mold. No cutting up cold chunks of butter or working it into the flour with your fingers needed!

No dusting of flour and rolling out the dough after it refrigerates. Nope. This one is mixed and molded into the tart shell with ease, then you pop it in the fridge to firm up prior to baking. So much easier and the result is a wonderfully firm and crumbly pastry dough crust.

This Chocolate Macadamia Nut Tart has a buttery pastry shell filled with macadamia nuts, a caramel filling studded with chunks of ginger all topped with a chocolate ganache. keviniscooking.com

As for the chocolate ganache topping. Wow, with a little sea salt flakes on top to counter the sweetness, this is just amazing.

What is Chocolate Ganache?

Ganache is a glaze, sauce, or filling for pastries made from melted chocolate and cream.

Knowing there all all different textures of ganache I decided to do a little research (courtesy of The Kitchn, see recipe notes, too.) and give you options. I always have used 1:1 ratio for most things, but this, at least to my liking, needs to be a bit thicker. Choose what you like.

The chocolate ganache that glazes your cakes and pastries is the same chocolate ganache that you roll into truffles, with one very important exception: the proportion of cream to chocolate. Glazes and icings will require a thinner consistency which translates to a higher percentage of cream. A thicker glaze for frosting or for rolling into truffles needs to be stiffer, so the chocolate percentage is higher. Here’s a handy guide:

These proportions are based on weight.

For example, a 1:1 ratio means 4 ounces chocolate to 4 ounces cream.

  1. Layer cake filling and thick glaze: 1:1, equal parts chocolate and cream.
  2. Chocolate truffles: 2:1, two parts chocolate to one part cream.
  3. Soft icing and pourable glaze: 1:2, one part chocolate to two parts cream.

 

Needless to say whatever you choose (actually Dave prefers no chocolate at all) you’re going to really love this.

If you like this Chocolate Macadamia Nut Tart one try my Chocolate Caramel Butter Bars, No Bake Salted Caramel Malted Chocolate Cookie Bars, or my Chocolate Salted Caramel Tart. Enjoy!

This Chocolate Macadamia Nut Tart has a buttery pastry shell filled with macadamia nuts, a caramel filling studded with chunks of ginger all topped with a chocolate ganache. keviniscooking.com

 

This recipe was previously seen on Kevin Is Cooking September 2013 and has been updated with new photos and a new video.

 

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slice of macadamia nut tart with chocolate ganache topping

Chocolate Macadamia Nut Tart

5 from 6 votes
This Chocolate Macadamia Nut Tart has a French pastry shell filled with macadamia nuts, caramel studded with chunks of ginger all topped with a chocolate ganache. Filling adapted from Sunset Magazine.
Servings: 12 servings
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 40 minutes
Total: 55 minutes

Ingredients 

French Pastry Shell

Macadamia Caramel Filling:

  • 1 1/2 cups macadamia nuts, roasted, salted
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup candied ginger chopped
  • 1 tbsp ginger paste
  • 1 tsp vanilla

Chocolate Ganache:

Instructions 

Pastry Shell(s):

  • Place the macadamia nuts in a food processor fitted with steel blade and pulse until pulverized. Next add the flour, sugar and salt in the food processor. Pulse to mix.
  • Melt butter and allow to cool slightly. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, beaten egg and egg yolk. While the processor is running, add the butter mixture to the flour mixture.
  • Stop as soon as the dough is blended. Remove from processor and form the dough into the tart shell and up sides. (See Note 1) Chill for at least one hour.
  • Preheat oven to 325°F. Put the macadamia nuts in the bottom of the chilled tart shell. Set aside.

Caramel Ginger Filling:

  • In a bowl blend the eggs, sugar, candied ginger, fresh ginger and vanilla. Pour filling evenly over the macadamia nuts in tart shell(s).
  • Bake for 40 minutes until the filling jiggles ever so slightly. Cool and cover with Chocolate Ganache.

Chocolate Ganache: (See Note 2)

  • Place chocolate in a mixing bowl. Pour warmed cream over and cover for 5 minutes. Stir to combine and is smooth. Pour and spread over cooled macadamia nut tart. Top with sea salt flakes. Refrigerate for 1 hour to firm ganache and tart.
  • Slice and serve with raspberries (optional).

Video

Notes

  1. I have used both six individual  4 1/2" tart shell pans or a single 11" tart shell pan.
  2. The chocolate ganache that glazes your cakes and pastries is the same chocolate ganache that you roll into truffles, with one very important exception: the proportion of cream to chocolate. Glazes and icings will require a thinner consistency which translates to a higher percentage of cream. A thicker glaze for frosting or for rolling into truffles needs to be stiffer, so the chocolate percentage is higher. Here's a handy guide: Chocolate Ganache Proportions
    These proportions are based on weight. For example, a 1:1 ratio means 4 ounces chocolate to 4 ounces cream.
    - Layer cake filling and thick glaze: 1:1, equal parts chocolate and cream.
    - Chocolate truffles: 2:1, two parts chocolate to one part cream.
    - Soft icing and pourable glaze: 1:2, one part chocolate to two parts cream.
    Chocolate Ganache Proportions Source: The Kitchn
 

Nutrition

Calories: 610kcal | Carbohydrates: 56g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 40g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Cholesterol: 112mg | Sodium: 250mg | Potassium: 284mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 37g | Vitamin A: 565IU | Vitamin C: 0.3mg | Calcium: 73mg | Iron: 3.5mg

The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American, Western
Have You Made This Recipe? Let Me Know on InstagramTag @keviniscooking or tag me #keviniscooking!

Kevin

Whether in the kitchen or on the grill, you’ll find me cooking American favorites with a love for BBQ, Mexican and Tex Mex. I’m passionate about making tasty food because life’s too short to be bland!

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25 Comments

  1. This looks divine! How far ahead can I make this? If I make it Monday, and keep it in the fridge, will the crust will be sad on Wednesday?

    1. I have made it a day ahead with no issues. 2 days and refrigerated, hmmm, I can’t speak to that. I think it may be fine, just bring to room temperature before serving. Regardless this decadent tart will be a hit. If you do, please let me know and I can update the recipe card Notes.