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Engadiner Nusstorte
Walnut caramel pie
Bündner Nusstorte: walnut and caramel pie from the Engadine valley in Graubünden
The Engadiner Nusstorte comes from the high Engadine valley in Graubünden, where pastry cooks who had emigrated to Italian and French cities brought home their skills in the 1800s, and walnuts arrived from Italy over the passes. It is a shallow, closed tart of rich butter pastry filled with chopped walnuts set in thick, golden cream caramel. Bakeries all over Switzerland sell it, and it keeps for weeks, so families give it as a gift and take it on hikes. Cut it into thin wedges: it is very rich, chewy, crunchy and buttery all at once. Chef's tip: let the caramel reach a deep amber before you pour in the cream; pale caramel tastes only of sugar, dark amber gives the toffee note the tart is known for.
- Total time
- 80 min
- Difficulty
- hard
- Serves
- 12
Ingredients
For the pastry
- 10 ½ oz plain flour
- 3 ½ oz sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- 7 oz cold butterdiced
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolkbeaten with 1 tsp milk, for glazing
For the filling
- 9 oz sugar
- 3 tbsp water
- ¾ cup double creamwarmed
- 1 tbsp honey
- 9 oz walnut halvesroughly chopped
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Method
0/9 doneStep 1: Rub 7 oz cold butter into 10 ½ oz plain flour, 3 ½ oz sugar and ¼ tsp salt until it looks like breadcrumbs, then add 1 egg and bring together quickly into a dough. Divide into two pieces (one a little larger), wrap and chill for 1 hour.
60 minStep 2: Put 9 oz sugar and 3 tbsp water in a wide, heavy pan over a medium heat. Let the sugar dissolve, then boil without stirring, swirling the pan, until it turns a deep amber and smells of toffee, 6–8 minutes.
8 minStep 3: Take the pan off the heat and pour in ¾ cup double cream a little at a time; it will bubble up fiercely. Stir in 1 tbsp honey, return to a low heat and stir until smooth, about 2 minutes.
2 minStep 4: Stir in 9 oz walnut halves and simmer gently for 2–3 minutes. Leave the filling to cool completely; it should be thick and sticky. Spreading warm filling is a common mistake: it melts the pastry and leaks through the lid.
3 minStep 5: Heat the oven to 350°F (325°F fan). Roll the larger piece of pastry to line the base and 3 cm up the sides of a greased 24–26 cm loose-bottomed tart tin or springform.
Step 6: Spread in the cold filling. Roll out the second piece to a round the size of the tin, lay it on top and pinch the edges together firmly to seal.
Step 7: Brush the top with 1 egg yolk and draw a criss-cross pattern with a fork. Prick a few holes so steam can escape.
Step 8: Bake for 35–40 minutes, until the top is a rich golden brown.
40 minStep 9: Cool completely in the tin, ideally overnight, so the caramel sets. Turn it out upside down so the smooth base becomes the top, the traditional way to present it, and cut thin slices.
60 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 470 kcal
- Protein
- 6 g
- Carbs
- 45 g
- Fat
- 30 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does engadiner Nusstorte take?
- About 80 minutes in total: 40 minutes to prepare and 40 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 12 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of plain flour?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
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