Walnut and Concord Grape Tart
Looking for something other than apple and pumpkin to add to your fall bake list? Then you must try this unique walnut and concord grape tart recipe! Packed with walnuts, baking spices, brown butter, and concord grapes this one of many great baking recipes with grapes perfect for fall.
What are Concord Grapes Best For?
Concord grapes are one of the many delicious produces coming alive during the fall season, and there is a very short window of opportunity to use them. They have a bright and intense flavor that is almost spicy and astringent. But what are concord grapes best for? Concord grapes are frequently used for jellies and jams and many desserts including pies, crumbles, and custards. This easy concord grape tart recipe is not only one of many great uses for grapes but includes the amazing flavor combinations of brown butter, walnuts, and warm baking spices. It’s also a lovely and unique dessert to serve at Thanksgiving.
The Origin Of Concord Grapes
Concord grapes are native to North America and, more specifically, the northeast. The name concord grape comes from Concord, Massachusetts where they were first selected and propagated from wild seedlings in 1849. These tasty grapes then carried over to western New York in the 1870’s where the environment proved to be fruitful for their production. In fact, the area surrounding lake Erie in New York and Pennsylvania is the oldest and largest growing region in the world. Learn more about the concord grape belt here!
Walnut and Concord Grape Tart Ingredients
- Concord grapes: One of many great baking recipes with grapes in my opinion, this fruity dessert makes wonderful use of the short-lived concord grape season. The rather annoying and time consuming part is halving and de-seeding. No trick there; just doing that individually.
- Concord grape jam or jelly: I love bakes with jam and this is one of many amazing concord grape recipes especially with the addition of the jam to really hone in on that concord grape flavor.
- Walnuts: Whole, halved, or chopped is fine for this nutty dessert!
Major Allergens Present: Nuts, dairy (butter), gluten, eggs
Equipment Needed
If you don’t have a mixer then no problem! This is one my few recipes that do not use a mixer.
- 11″ Tart tin with removable bottom: Used to bake the tart in. Alternatively you can use this recipe to make eight 4″ tarts.
- Food processor: Used to make the spiced walnut crust in. Alternatively you can use a ziplock bag with a rolling pin then hand rub in the butter followed by the egg.
How to Make a Walnut and Concord Grape Tart:
What is a Walnut and Concord Grape Tart Made Out Of?
This concord grape tart recipe is one of many amazing concord grape recipes and a great use of concord grapes while they’re in season! We’ve got a toasted walnut crust that I spice with cloves and cinnamon to bring extra warmth to the dessert. We fill that crust with concord grape jam for extra flavor and because I love bakes with jam as well as a brown butter filling that is so cozy and delicious. We also use whole concord grapes to get the full concord grape affect.
Make and Bake the Spiced Walnut Crust:
First step is to make the tart shell for this nutty bake! Toast the walnuts first as the added bitterness will help cut the sweetness of the filling and bring the nutty flavors out. We use a food processor to grind the nuts finely and evenly incorporate the butter. If you don’t have a food processor, you can start with a ziplock bag and rolling pin then manually rub the butter in with your hands. The egg helps bind it all together. When pressing into the tart tin, I find that having wet hands prevents it from sticking. It may not look like enough for the whole tin, but if you’re using an 11″ I promise it is!
Make the Brown Butter Tart Filling:
The best part in my opinion! Always brown the butter right away since it takes some time to cool down to room temperature before it’s ready for use. When browning butter, use a medium sized pan since it does bubble and expand while cooking. Browned butter smells very nutty so you’ll know it’s ready when you smell it. It will also turn a nice brown color (hence the name). If you love brown butter as much as I do then check out my other brown butter recipes!
When mixing the batter it’s just a simple matter of combing the right ingredients in the right order, and whisking in the brown butter last after it has cooled down. Don’t forget to scrape out all the brown bits at the bottom of the pan since that’s where all the flavor is!
Halve and De-Seed the Concord Grapes
Being totally transparent, this is the worst part of the whole recipe, but it’s what makes this dessert an amazingly fruity bake and one of the best concord grape recipes. Make sure you have a sharp knife to slice in half or else the grape will slip away from the skin which you can absolutely eat by the way. For de-seeding, I usually use my nails as pincers to extract the seeds.
Compose and Bake the Walnut and Concord Grape Tart
Time to make and bake this easy concord grape tart recipe now that we have all of our components! Spread the concord grape jam evenly on the bottom of the tart shell followed by the brown butter filling. If the brown butter filling hardened up on you, you can always pop it in the microwave for 10 second intervals until it’s a looser consistency. Place the concord grape halves on top, and I will place them skin side up for the look, but you can also sprinkle them on. Bake until the center is brown and firm, and allow to cool before slicing and enjoy this delicious fall bake.
Help Making Walnut and Concord Grape Tart:
How to Brown Butter and Add:
Brown butter is such a fantastic way to add depth and flavor to a dessert and I have several brown butter recipes in my arsenal. Check out these tips below on how to brown butter and add.
- You will want a medium sized pot for this recipe and larger if you multiply it. The butter will foam and rise in the pot, so if you choose a pot too small it may bubble right out.
- Once it reaches the foaming stage, it will stop boiling and just brown. You will need to swirl the pan around to see the color beneath the foam. You are looking for a deep golden brown and a nutty aroma.
- Remove from heat immediately and allow to cool completely before adding it. If you add it right away you could cook your batter before baking it. Also, definitely do not go for a spoon taste before cooling because you’re essentially working with hot oil!
- Scrape all the browned bits from the bottom of the pan; that’s where all the yummy flavor is!
Enhancing This Walnut and Concord Grape Tart Recipe:
- Zest some lemons into the batter and tart shell mix to add a little zestiness to the tart. Squeeze a lemon into the brown butter batter too.
- Make some spiced whipped cream to serve with this!
- Use a different fruit jam to play with different fruits together.
How to Store and Freeze Walnut and Concord Grape Tart
- Freeze the walnut and concord grape tart tightly wrapped for up to 3 months.
- Refrigerate wrapped for up to 7 days.
- Store covered at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Troubleshooting Walnut and Concord Grape Tart:
- My brown butter filling has little chunks in it! Your butter was too hot before adding and you cooked some of your eggs. Next time, make sure your browned butter is at the most, warm.
- The skin keeps falling off my concord grapes! That’s okay! I prefer to use grapes with the skin on because of the color. However, if all of your skins are coming off then check your knife as it may be too dull.
Something else going wrong? Reach out and we will troubleshoot together!
Walnut and Concord Grape Tart
Equipment
- 11" Tart tin with removable bottom
- Food processor
Ingredients
Spiced Walnut Crust
- 120 g Walnuts Toasted
- 100 g Whole wheat flour
- ½ tsp Cinnamon, ground
- ¼ tsp Cloves, ground
- ½ tsp Kosher salt
- 50 g Granulated sugar
- 6 TBS Butter, unsalted Cut into small cubes
- 1 ea Egg yolk
Concord Grape Brown Butter Filling
- 12 oz Concord Grapes ¾ of a 1lb clamshell container
- 170 g Butter, unsalted
- 170 g Granulated sugar
- 3 ea Whole eggs
- 52 g All purpose flour
- 10 oz Concord grape jam Estimated amount
Instructions
To Prepare the Spiced Walnut Filling
- Preheat the oven to 400℉ and spray your tart tin with pan spray
- Combine the walnuts with the flour, spices, salt, and sugar in your food processor. Grind until the walnuts are fine.
- Add in the butter and pulse until mealy texture.
- Add in the egg yolk and pulse until incorporated.
- Press filling into the tart tin evenly. Using wet fingers will help it from sticking to your fingers. Pay special attention to the corners.
- Freeze for about 30 minutes.
- Par bake for 15-18 minutes or until the edges turn brown and the middle starts to turn brown. Reduce oven temperature to 350℉.
To Prepare the Concord Grape Tart Filling and Baking
- Half and seed the concord grapes, set aside.
- Brown the butter and set aside to cool.
- While waiting for the butter to cool, mix together the sugar, eggs, and flour.
- Slowly whisk in the cooled brown butter scraping the browned bits at the bottom of the pan.
- Evenly spread the concord grape jam on the bottom of the spiced walnut crust.
- Pour and evenly spread the brown butter filling on top of the jam.
- Place the concord grape halves on top of the brown butter filling. No need to press down.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes rotating halfway through or until the center of the tart is firm and browned.
- Cool completely before slicing and serving.
Nutrition
I looooooove Concord grapes and this was just a fun new way of baking with them. I will definitely be making this again, I’m obsessed!