Pecan Tart

Cooking Instructions

For the crust: Blend the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor. Add the butter and pulse until the butter is cut into pea-size pieces. Drizzle 4 tablespoons of ice water over the mixture. Pulse just until moist clumps form. Gather the dough into a ball then flatten it into a disc.

Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 day. Unwrap the dough. Starting from the center of the dough disc and rolling toward the edge, roll out the dough, rotating it and dusting the surface with flour to prevent the dough from sticking, until the dough is about 13 inches in diameter. Brush away any excess flour.

Place the rolling pin on the edge of the dough that's farthest away from you, and gently and loosely roll the dough around the pin toward you, until you have about half of it on the pin. Lift the pin over the edge of a 9 1/2-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom.

Slowly unroll the dough over the pan, draping and centering it over the pan, and gently lift and coax down the dough into the pan. Lightly press the dough into the bottom corners and up the sides of the pan. Trim the overhang to 3/4 inch; let the dough hang over the sides of the pan. Set aside.

To make the filling: Position a rack in the bottom third of the oven and preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Melt the butter in a heavy small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Whisk until the butter is golden brown, about 2 minutes. Cool to room temperature.

Whisk the syrup, sugar, and salt in a large bowl to blend. Whisk in the cooled brown butter to blend. Whisk in the eggs 1 at a time. Stir in the pecans. Pour the filling into the prepared crust. Place the tart on a rimmed baking sheet.

Bake the tart on the bottom rack in the oven for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and continue baking the tart until the filling puffs slightly and the center is just set, about 50 minutes longer.

Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for at least 1 hour. Using a sharp knife, trim the overhanging crust flush to the top of the pan edge. Remove the tart from the pan and transfer it to a platter. Serve the tart slightly warm or at room temperature with whipped cream.