Caramel Maple Pecan Tart with Cinnamon-Candied Pecans
A showstopping pecan tart with a bright, quick-baked lemon-thyme crust, a deep caramel date-and-pecan filling that needs no baking, a cloud of maple mascarpone cream, and a crown of maple-cinnamon candied pecans
Serves 8 · 1 hr active · 5 hr total (plus 24-48 hr to dehydrate the pecans, or a 10-minute oven shortcut) · Pecans are harvested in the U.S. South (Georgia, Texas, and New Mexico) from October into December · Best eaten: afternoon
Ingredients
Cinnamon-candied pecans
1 cup raw pecans
1 tbsp pure maple syrup
1 tbsp ground Ceylon cinnamon
2 tbsp coconut sugar
¼ tsp pure vanilla extract
½ tsp Baja Gold sea salt
Lemon-thyme crust
1 ½ cups blanched almond flour
7 tbsp coconut flour
3 tbsp pure maple syrup
6 tbsp coconut oil, melted
1 pasture-raised egg, beaten
5 drops food-grade lemon essential oil (or 2 tsp lemon zest)
2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
¼ tsp Baja Gold sea salt
Pecan pie filling
1 lb Medjool dates, pitted
2 cups raw pecans
2 tbsp pure maple syrup
1 tbsp blackstrap molasses
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
1 tbsp ground Ceylon cinnamon
½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
½ tsp Baja Gold sea salt
6 tbsp coconut oil, melted
Maple mascarpone cream
8 oz grass-fed mascarpone, cold
½ cup grass-fed heavy cream, cold
3 tbsp pure maple syrup
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
¼ tsp ground Ceylon cinnamon
Pinch of Baja Gold sea salt
Or, dairy-free: maple cashew cream
1 cup raw cashews, soaked 4 hours (or 1 hour in hot water) and drained
⅓ cup full-fat coconut cream
3 tbsp pure maple syrup
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Pinch of Baja Gold sea salt
3 tbsp cacao butter, melted
To serve
Extra fresh thyme leaves
Crushed pecans
Fresh blackberries
Method
Make the cinnamon-candied pecans
Coat. Toss the pecans with the maple syrup, let them sit 5 minutes, then drain off any excess.
Season. Add the cinnamon, coconut sugar, vanilla, and salt, and toss to coat.
Dry. Spread them on a lined dehydrator sheet and dehydrate at 115°F for 24-48 hours, until crisp. In a hurry? Dehydrate at 155°F for 3-4 hours, or bake at 300°F for 8-10 minutes, watching closely so the sugar doesn't burn.
Make the crust
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Mix. Pulse all the crust ingredients in a food processor until well combined. The dough should hold together when pinched. If it's crumbly, add 1-2 tbsp water, a spoonful at a time.
Press. Press the dough into a parchment-lined 9-inch tart pan (one with a removable bottom is easiest). Work from the middle out, making the crust thin but not see-through, then pinch the edges between your thumb and forefinger to form a smooth rim.
Bake. Prick the base all over with a fork so it doesn't puff, then bake 10-12 minutes, until just golden at the edges. Watch closely toward the end, since the maple syrup browns quickly.
Cool completely before filling (a warm crust would melt the coconut oil in the filling). Chill it in the fridge or freezer until you're ready to fill.
Make the filling
Chop the pecans. Pulse the 2 cups of pecans briefly, keeping some large chunks, and transfer them to a mixing bowl.
Make the date paste. Process the dates, maple syrup, molasses, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt into a smooth paste.
Add the coconut oil. With the processor running, stream in the melted coconut oil until well incorporated.
Fold. Scrape the date paste into the bowl with the pecans and fold until evenly mixed.
Chill the filling 30 minutes.
Assemble
Fill. Spread about three-quarters of the filling into the chilled crust, pressing it in evenly with a spoon, spatula, or gloved hands, then smooth the top with the back of a spoon. (Roll any leftover filling into little balls for date-pecan truffles.) Chill 30 minutes.
Make the cream. For the mascarpone cream, whip all the ingredients together just until thick and spreadable, about 1 minute; stop before it turns grainy. For the cashew cream, blend everything except the cacao butter until silky, then stream in the cacao butter with the blender running.
Add the cream layer. Spread the cream evenly over the chilled filling. Chill at least 1 hour (the cashew cream needs 2 hours, or 1 hour in the freezer, to set).
Decorate. Just before serving, arrange the candied pecans on top in concentric circles or a freeform pattern (adding them last keeps them crisp).
Serve with fresh thyme, crushed pecans, and blackberries.
Nourishment Notes
The lemon-thyme crust is a delightful surprise. Thyme is unusual in sweets, but its gentle, herbal bite pairs beautifully with pecans and dates, and in Provence, thyme shows up in sweet treats as well as savory dishes. The lemon and thyme also balance the deep sweetness of the dates, so every bite stays bright and interesting.
Blackstrap molasses is the secret to this filling. It's the dark syrup left after the third boiling of sugarcane, bitter and deeply concentrated, and it's rich in iron, calcium, magnesium, potassium, and B6. Just 1 tablespoon gives the filling the deep, almost burnt-caramel flavor of the old-fashioned molasses pecan pies that came before corn syrup. Skip it, or swap in honey, and the filling tastes flatter and sweeter.
The cream layer is what makes this tart sing. Cool, light, and gently sweet, it balances the rich, dense filling, so you get caramel, cream, and crunch in every bite.
The candied pecans are worth the wait. Low-temperature dehydration keeps the nuts raw and gently dries them into a deeply crisp, intensely flavored topping. The oven shortcut works well too, with a slightly different, more toasted texture.
Pecans — monounsaturated fats, vitamin E (especially gamma-tocopherol), manganese, copper, and zinc.
Medjool dates — potassium, magnesium, copper, and fiber-bound natural sweetness.
Almond flour — vitamin E, magnesium, and monounsaturated fats.
Pasture-raised egg — complete protein, choline, and fat-soluble vitamins, plus natural binding power for a crisp, sturdy crust.
Grass-fed mascarpone and cream — fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K2, plus CLA.
Cashews and cacao butter (dairy-free option) — magnesium, copper, and zinc, plus a stable, naturally solid fat that sets the cream.
Thyme — thymol and carvacrol.
Ceylon cinnamon and nutmeg — warming spices traditionally used for digestion. Cinnamon's polyphenols also help moderate blood sugar.
Blackberries — anthocyanins, vitamin C, and fiber.
Storage
With the mascarpone cream: Refrigerated up to 3-4 days
With the cashew cream: Refrigerated up to 5 days, or frozen up to 2 months
Candied pecans: In an airtight jar at room temperature up to 2 weeks
Date-pecan truffles: Refrigerated up to 1 week, or frozen up to 2 months
Sourcing
Pecans — organic, raw, from a U.S. Southern orchard when you can, kept in the fridge so their oils stay fresh
Medjool dates — organic, soft, and plump
Blanched almond flour — organic and fresh (keep it in the fridge). U.S. almonds are pasteurized by law, even when labeled "raw," so the gold standard is grinding your own from organic, unpasteurized Spanish almonds, like Terrasoul's
Coconut flour — organic, unsweetened, and single-ingredient
Coconut oil — organic, virgin, and unrefined
Pasture-raised eggs — organic, from a local farm where the hens truly range on pasture, or Alexandre Family Farm (Regenerative Organic Certified)
Mascarpone and heavy cream — organic and grass-fed. Grass-fed mascarpone can be hard to find, so the gold standard is homemade: heat 2 cups grass-fed heavy cream to 185°F, stir in 1 tbsp lemon juice, hold 5 minutes, cool, then strain overnight in the fridge through cheesecloth. It makes about 1 cup
Cashews (dairy-free option) — organic
Coconut cream (dairy-free option) — organic and full-fat, with just coconut and water; Native Forest Simple comes in BPA-free cans
Cacao butter (dairy-free option) — organic, unrefined, and fair-trade
Maple syrup — organic, Grade A dark
Blackstrap molasses — organic and unsulfured
Coconut sugar — organic
Lemon — organic lemons for zest, or organic food-grade lemon essential oil labeled for internal use
Fresh thyme — organic
Spices — organic, non-irradiated true Ceylon cinnamon from Sri Lanka, plus whole nutmeg to grate fresh
Vanilla — organic pure vanilla extract with no added sugar
Blackberries — organic, fresh in summer or frozen off-season
Baja Gold sea salt
— Anna aka Food Marshall