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Chocolate Macadamia Nut Tart

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Day six of my annual Christmas series over here, with a lovely Chocolate Macadamia Nut Tart…and are you sick of me yet? Maybe, I never really know. Figuring out how to space these out appropriately has always been a struggle for me. This year I have decided to do them all closer together and get them over with earlier. I figured this way you can plan better the week of Christmas in case you want to make any of these for you holiday. So bear with me 🙂

Anyhow back to this Chocolate Macadamia nut tart you’re definitely going to want to try at some point in your life.

I like to think of this as kind of a cross between a tart and a cheesecake. It is made with ricotta cheese and a bit of cream cheese, but is baked in a pastry crust in a removable-bottom tart pan. And it is chock full of sweet, buttery macadamia nuts and then has some sprinkled on top for good measure.

What are macadamia nuts? I mean, I know what they are, but I have never had them.

Macadamia nuts are a true treat. Most people, myself included, think they come from Hawaii. They are grown there and when I was in Hawaii they were marketed as ‘Hawaii’s own.’ But they are actually from Australia – thank you google.

Macadamia nuts are sweet and have a buttery taste. And they compliment the cocoa flavored ricotta tart filling perfectly. Plus they are kind of considered exotic, making it a show stopper for sure.

What you need for this Chocolate Macadamia Nut Tart.

  • Pastry dough – and by that I mean pie crust. You are going to want to start out with a good pastry crust. I am talking BUTTER baby. I am the queen of short cuts when I need and want them, and I won’t let you down here, there is a shortcut, and that that would be Trader Joe’s pie crust. And if you don’t believe me here read this and this) It’s one of the only store pie crusts made with butter, and bakes up super flaky, and is the closest to homemade. If you are not near a Trader Joe’s to buy this, I highly recommend making your own. The buttery crust is the greatest compliment to the almond filling ever, and your average Pillsbury store bought crust just doesn’t cut it (it is made with oil and you can tell). Here is a great recipe for pastry crust that I use all the time, in case you don’t have a favorite.
  • Ricotta and cream cheese – these give this tart a great texture.
  • Cocoa powder – I mean, it is a CHOCOLATE macadamia nut tart after all.
  • LIQUEUR – I like to capitalize to emphasize that this tart has alcohol in it – YAY! I use Fangelico, which is a hazelnut liqueur, and hazelnuts are the most similar, I think, to macadamia nuts. But recently, I discovered that there is a macadamia nut liqueur. So get some of that if you like!
  • Macadamia nuts – duh
  • Semi- or bitter- sweet chocolate – finely chop this and it will get sprinkled into the filling and melt into the tart for extra chocolate!
  • Eggs, yolks, sugar and a pinch of salt – pretty much standard for tarts.

Your never-missed pro tips.

  1. Use unsalted macadamia nuts if you can. Salted nuts are way too salty for baking. But if you can’t find them unsalted, just rinse them really good in a colander and let them dry out before chopping.
  2. Chop your chocolate fine. I almost would say, if you are using a bar of chocolate try to shave it. You really want it to melt into the tart as much as possible.
  3. Use whole milk ricotta. Skim milk ricotta is way too watery.

Serve this chocolate macadamia nut tart with a dusting of powdered sugar and a few toasted, chopped extra macadamia nuts on top.

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Chocolate Macadamia Nut Tart

Ingredients

  • 1 recipe of your favorite pie crust or one already prepared store-bought crust
  • 3/4 of a block of cream cheese packages are marked by oz, use 3 oz
  • 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
  • 6 tablespoons of sugar
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons of cocoa powder
  • 2 tablespoons of Fangelico or macadamia nut liqueur
  • 1 whole egg
  • 2 egg yolks
  • pinch of salt
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped unsalted macadamia nuts try to use roasted ones if you can
  • 1/2 cup semisweet or bittersweet chocolate VERY finely chopped

Instructions

  1. Heat the oven to 350.
  2. Press the pastry dough into a 9-inch tart pan (the kind with a removable bottom).
  3. To make the filling combine the cream cheese, ricotta, sugar, cocoa powder and pinch of salt in a food processor or using a mixer (a food processor is better if you have one). Process or beat until super smooth. Scrape down the sides and add the egg first, then each yolk one at a time, processing or beating until thoroughly incorporated and smooth. Beat in the liqueur last. Fold in all but two tablespoons of the chopped macadamia nuts.
  4. Pour this into the prepared tart pan and sprinkle all the chopped chocolate over the top and press GENTLY to make sure some of it gets in there.
  5. Bake about 25-30 minutes until just set and the center is slightly puffed. Cool before dusting with powdered sugar and the remaining chopped nuts.

Let me know whatcha think!