This pie is a classic that we make on a regular basis.
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I got this excellent recipe from my dear neighbor. It’s a favorite family recipe from New Zealand and has been for many years. We made this pie on several occasions and each time it was a big hit. Over the years this recipe has been handed to many other friends, neighbors and relatives and we regularly get great feedback about it. I especially like the first bite of this pie when it is still warm and a bit chewy. When eating this pie, remember that walnuts are good for you!
Ingredients for the walnut pie dough
125 g soft butter
125 g soft light brown sugar (muscovado sugar / witte of gele basterdsuiker)
225 g pastry flour
1 egg (half in the dough, half for egg wash)
1.5 g sea salt
This is what you need for the caramel filling
125 g fine caster sugar
125 ml heavy cream or whipping cream (we use around 35% fat content)
1 g sea salt
125 g chopped walnuts, lightly roasted
1 tbsp water
Making the pie
For the filling, melt the sugar in a heavy based saucepan on low heat until light brown. Add the tablespoon of water and swirl the pan around to blend it in. Add the cream little by little in the same way, swirling the pan around, rather than stirring (otherwise you might end up with a big lump of sugar that’s hard to dissolve again). Mix the chopped walnuts with the caramel, pour the mixture in a greased dish and leave to cool.
Preheat the oven at 180°C / 355°F. Make the dough by combining the flour, butter, sugar, salt and half of the egg. Press into a flat disc, wrap or cover and place the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Fill the greased bottom of a shallow pie dish (approx 22 cm or 9 inches) with 275 grams of the dough and make a rim of about 2 cm. Spread the walnut-caramel evenly in the dish. Role out the rest of the dough (this is about 225 grams of dough) and cover the filling. Brush the pie with some of the remaining egg and bake for about 30 to 35 minutes until beautiful brown. Leave to cool for a while because caramel can be very hot, but try some while still warm!
Tip: You can also make 6 mini ones (I use 10 cm tartelette molds) and give everybody their own individual pie. Advantage: a little more crust compared to the big pie.
Note: Walnuts are also an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids and have been shown as helpful in lowering cholesterol. Don’t know about the combination with butter and sugar though….
Meryl says
Gosh this recipe brings back memories of growing up in New Zealand. Sour cream pastry is the yummiest though, it can be used for sweet and savoury pies, it is short and buttery yet flaky, and takes no skills to make. It is out there on the net but the version we all use in Australia/New Zealand now is from Maggie Beer’s website – she is a famous cook down here. Please look it up because it is fail safe, simple to make, yummy, versatile and once you make it, it will become the “go to” pastry recipe for many pies and tarts.
SR flour is self raising, I think is equivalent to 1 cup flour plus 2 teaspoons of baking powder.
Weekend Bakers says
Hi Meryl,
Thank you for this lovely suggestion. We have seen Maggie on TV over here in an episode of Australian Master Chef.
We will surely try out this pastry recipe.
Happy baking!
Greetings from Holland,
Marieke & Ed
Carla says
Hello Marieke,
What do you use in the Netherlands for heavy cream? I know in England you have single cream, double cream, whipping cream but what is heavy cream?
I like the look of the finished pie and I love walnuts so I’m thinking about trying to make it myself but I’m not sure what to use for heavy cream. Hopefully you can help me out.
Carla
Weekend Bakers says
Hi Carla,
It is a bit of a term that maybe needs some more explaining. I think heavy cream as a term is used in the US, usually for cream with a fat content of (at least) 36%. The cream in Holland (we also call ‘slagroom’ and use to make whipped cream) in its full fat variety usually contains about 35% fat, (some organic brands go a little bit higher than that). To make a long story short if your (whipping) cream would contain around 35% fat then this would be the option to use.
Happy baking,
Marieke