Martha Stewart Has a Simple Recipe for a Pecan Tart That You’ll Wish You Knew About Sooner

If you’re anything like me, baking can be a bit intimidating. Sprinkle in my novice experience and a little bit of nervousness, and I’m left with a true recipe for disaster. (At least that’s what goes on in my head, but it really isn’t all that bad!) Thankfully, we have Martha Stewart always available to come to the rescue. 

No stranger to experimentation, Martha takes the intimidation out of baking with her soothing voice and comforting smile, all while providing easy-to-follow steps for recipes you can try in the safety of your own non-judgmental kitchen.   

Taking to her YouTube channel, the top-tier host shared her recipe for what she calls a “showstopping pecan tart that looks almost too good to eat.” Explaining how nut pies and tarts can often be too sweet, Martha notes that after some experimentation, she found that adding some grated lemon zest to the filling helps balance out the flavor of the sweet pecans. And while baking nut pies can often be intimidating, she breaks this recipe up into three easy-to-follow steps that only require a handful of ingredients to bring this pie to life.   

First, you’ll need to make the crust. Using a rolling pin, roll half of a pâte brisée recipe into a 10×13-inch rectangle. She notes the importance of turning your pastry throughout this process. If it lifts easily, it is well-made. Otherwise, it will be sticky and difficult to work with.  Using a rolling pin, transfer your pastry to the pan by loosely rolling it up with the pin and then unraveling it on top of your pan. Press in the corners and the sides, and then cut the excess pastry by rolling the pin over the edges of the pan.  Crumble up some parchment paper and set it inside your pastry. You’ll then add some dry beans or pie weights in and put the pan in the oven for 15 minutes at 375°F. You’ll then remove your weights and continue to bake for another 15 minutes, until the crust is golden brown. 

Next, whisk your eggs together with brown sugar, molasses, corn syrup, and salt before adding in your butter, vanilla, and lemon zest. Stir thoroughly before adding chopped pecans and stirring once more. If you’d like an alternative to using lemon, orange zest works wonderfully with this recipe as well.   

Lastly, pour the filling into your golden-brown shell. According to Martha, you’ll want to try to evenly distribute the nuts to get a nice consistency throughout. Then, you’ll arrange jumbo pecan halves in a diagonal pattern on top of the filling, covering the whole top. At this point, your oven should be reduced to 325°F and your tart will bake for about 45 minutes — or until the filling is set and the pastry is lightly browned. Be sure to let it cool entirely on an oven rack before serving and enjoying with some freshly whipped cream.   

Now if your sweet tooth is calling and you can’t get enough of Martha’s pecan tart recipe, you’ll want to check out these gingerbread blondies that are packed with flavor and great on the go. And if you aren’t too nuts for nuts then these Potato Doughnuts might just be the leftovers recipe you didn’t know you needed. 

In the meantime, you can watch the video below and get the full recipe for the Pecan Tart here.