Macadamia and Coconut Tart

Photo: flickr user meshmar2

Ingredients

1 cup flour

1 tablespoon caster sugar

125 grams unsalted butter

1 tablespoon iced water

1/2 cup flaked coconut

1 1/4 cups raw macadamia nuts

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 tablespoons honey

3 tablespoons cream

3 egg yolks

1/2 cup brown sugar

4 egg whites

1 cup caster sugar

Preparation

1. Pastry: Pre-heat oven to 190deg.C. Mix the flour and sugar together. Rub in the butter and add water, then mix the pastry until well blended. Press the pastry into a 23cm flan tin and prick with a fork. Place in the refrigerator for 20 minutes before baking blind* in the oven for 15 minutes or until the pastry is cooked through. Remove paper and beans and allow the pastry to cool.

2. Filling: Place coconut and macadamias on separate baking sheets and toast in the oven until light golden - be careful as coconut toasts very quickly.

Remove and set aside to cool. Roughly chop nuts.

3. Adjust oven to 200deg.C. Melt butter and honey and add cream. Beat egg yolks and sugar together and add to the honey mixture with the coconut and macadamias; mix well. Pour filling into the pastry shell and bake in oven for about 15-20 minutes or until filling has set and the top is golden. Remove and allow to cool to warm or if preferred, place in refrigerator to serve the next day. Serve with cream or vanilla ice-cream and meringues.

* To bake blind, place a sheet of Glad Bake over the pastry-lined flan tin and fill with dried beans or rice.

Meringues:1. Pre-heat oven to 130deg.C. Line baking sheets with Glad Bake or spray lightly with oil and dust with cornflour.

2. Place egg whites in bowl and beat with electric beaters until soft peaks form. Add sugar a tablespoon at a time, making sure that the sugar is completely dissolved before adding the next spoonful. To test if the sugar has dissolved, place a small amount of the mixture between thumb and forefinger and rub together; if you can feel any sugar grains, continue beating to dissolve before adding more sugar.

3. When the meringue is ready, either place spoonsful on Glad Bake lined baking sheets or spoon mixture into a piping bag fitted with a star tube and pipe small meringue on lined sheets.

3. Bake in oven for about 1 hour or until the meringues feel crisp and dry.

Turn off the oven and open the door ajar - leave until the oven is cool. Store the meringues in an airtight container until required.