How to make hazelnut tart from the Alice B Toklas Cookbook, a culinary treasure from the 1950s
- Cookery memoirs often contain recipes too complex or extravagant to replicate. This is an exception, and one that’s simply delicious
I am an avid reader of cookery memoirs, especially the older ones, where a glimpse into what life was like in bygone days is just as interesting as the recipes. In many of the books, the recipes are too complex or extravagant to be used for everyday fare in modern households. But occasionally, the books yield long-lost treasures that are delicious and easy to make.
Hazelnut tart
This recipe is adapted from one of my favourite cooking memoirs, The Alice B. Toklas Cookbook (1954), in which the author writes about living in Paris with Gertrude Stein at the beginning of the last century. This tart is so delicious that I am surprised it isn’t better known; perhaps it’s because more attention is paid to the book’s famous ‘haschich fudge’.
Like many other recipes in the book, the author gives only minimal instructions. Toklas neglects to tell us to let the dough rest and chill before rolling it out; if you don’t, it is impossible to roll as thinly as needed. She also doesn’t stress the importance of sealing the edges of the crusts – if you don’t, the filling will spill out.
Her instruction to mix the filling gently but thoroughly for 20 minutes cannot be ignored – if it’s not mixed for long enough, the filling will be grainy, but if it’s mixed too vigorously, it will aerate and cause the top and bottom crusts to separate. Use a rubber spatula to stir the filling gently – do not use a whisk.
For the dough:
180 grams (61⁄3 oz) plain (all-purpose) flour
1⁄4 tsp fine sea salt
