Boozy raisin, chocolate and walnut tart
Serves: 12
Prep time: 1 hrTotal time: 
Recipe photograph by Martin Poole
Boozy raisin, chocolate and walnut tart
Serves: 12
Prep time: 1 hrTotal time: 
See more recipes
Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
553Kcal
Fat
32gr
Saturates
13gr
Carbs
52gr
Sugars
36gr
Fibre
2gr
Protein
9gr
Salt
0.1gr
Sarah Randell
Our former Food Director, and previously food editor to Delia Smith, Sarah has written more than 1000 recipes for the magazine. She is also author of Family Baking and Marmalade; A Bittersweet Cookbook among others.
Sarah Randell
Our former Food Director, and previously food editor to Delia Smith, Sarah has written more than 1000 recipes for the magazine. She is also author of Family Baking and Marmalade; A Bittersweet Cookbook among others.
Ingredients
For the filling
- 150g walnut pieces
- 1 x 250g pack jumbo raisin mix
- 150ml sweet Pedro Ximénez sherry
- 75g unsalted butter
- 1 x 100g bar dark chocolate (about 70% cocoa solids), in pieces
- 4 large eggs
- 150g light muscovado sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (or paste)
For the walnut pastry
- 50g walnut pieces
- 250g plain flour, plus extra for rolling out
- 3 tbsp icing sugar
- 150g cold unsalted butter, in cubes
- 1 large egg yolk
Step by step
Get ahead
Soak the raisins a few hours ahead and make the pastry at the same time; take the pastry out of the fridge to soften for 30 minutes or so before rolling it out. The whole tart can be baked a day ahead, once cooled store it in an airtight container and re-heat it in a low oven (cover with foil) or serve it cold. The baked tart can also be frozen.
- For the filling, chop the walnuts and raisins into smaller pieces, this will make the tart easier to slice. First, roughly chop the walnuts, either by hand or pulse chop them in a food processor; tip into a bowl and set aside. Next chop the raisins, then tip them into a small bowl, pour over the sherry (you want as many of the raisins to be immersed in the sherry as possible), stir and set aside to soak.
- To make the pastry, first tip the 50g of walnut pieces into a food processor and whiz them until they are finely ground, then add the flour, icing sugar and a pinch of salt and whiz briefly to mix. Next add the butter and whiz again until the mix resembles breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolk and whiz until the pastry just starts to come together, then tip it out onto a lightly floured surface and mould it into a flat disc, wrap the pastry in cling film and chill it for 15 minutes.
- Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface; use it to line a lightly greased 23-24cm x 3.5-4cm deep fluted tin with a removable base. Chill the pastry case for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, melt the butter and the chocolate together for the filling in a bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, then take the bowl off the heat, stir and leave to cool slightly. Preheat the oven to 200°C, fan 180°C, gas 6.
- In another bowl and using a balloon whisk, lightly beat the eggs with the sugar and vanilla extract making sure you have broken up any lumps of sugar. Next, add the melted butter and chocolate and a pinch of salt. Tip in the raisins, the sherry they have been soaking in and the chopped walnut pieces and stir together.
- Line the pastry case with nonstick baking paper and ceramic baking beans (or uncooked rice), then bake it, on a baking tray, for 15 minutes or until the edges are lightly golden. Carefully remove the paper and beans, and return the pastry case to the oven for a further 3-5 minutes to dry out the centre of the pastry. Remove the baked tart case from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 180°C, fan 160°C, gas 4.
- Tip the filling into the baked tart case and once the oven temperature has reduced, return the tart to the oven to bake for 40 minutes. Serve the tart barely warm or cold – remove it from the tin (you can leave it on the base) and, using a large sharp knife, slice it first into quarters and then cut each quarter into three.
