This Almond Toffee Tart has been gracing the table at our Easter dinner for years. I believe my Mom got the recipe from her sister who got it from someone else so I’m not even sure on the origin. All I know is that it’s one of my most favorite desserts, and it’s often overlooked because it’s one of those things who’s appearance doesn’t adequately showcase it’s amazing-ness. But it is, in fact, amazing.
You’ll notice that although it’s called an “Almond Toffee Tart” there’s no actual toffee in the recipe. That’s because it’s a magical tart. You toss together a simple filling and while it’s in the oven the little tart fairies come and turn that filling into a chewy, caramelized, toffee-like substance. Amazing!
Ingredients and Equipment Needed
This is just a preview of ingredients and method, keep scrolling for full printable recipe.
Pastry
- All purpose flour
- Butter – Use real butter.
- Egg yolks
Filling
- Heavy whipping cream
- Granulated sugar
- Salt
- Orange zest
- Sliced almonds
- Almond extract
- Sweetened whipped cream – Optional, for serving.
Equipment
- Tart pan – You’ll need a tart pan with removable sides for this recipe. Honestly, if you buy the pan just for this dessert, it will be money well spent!
- Food processor – While not required, a food processor is useful for making the crust.
How to Make an Almond Toffee Tart
- The pastry dough comes together in minutes. You just need real butter (no exceptions), flour, and a couple of egg yolks. You can use a food processor, or a pastry cutter to cut them together until crumbs form. Make sure there are pea-sized chunks of butter in there to help you get a flaky crust.
- Press the dough into the tart pan and up the sides, then pop it in the oven to bake for a few minutes.
- While the pastry is baking, you can whip up the filling. Just heat up some whipping cream and sugar on the stove top. After it simmers for a few minutes, take it off the heat and add almond extract and fresh orange zest.
- Next goes in a bunch of sliced almonds. The original recipe didn’t call for toasting the almonds, but I started doing that a few years ago and loved the flavor and texture even more. That’s all there is to the filling! You might think the soupy consistency is strange, but that’s how it should be.
- Use a spoon to spread out the almonds so they’re in a nice layer and that’s all there is to it. Then you just pop it in the oven to bake. The color should be that light caramel color and around the edges should be deeper golden brown when done.
- Let the tart cool on a wire rack and you’ll see the color and appearance morph into a rich, dark caramel color.
I wish you could all have a bite of this so you could understand the flavor and texture. The crust is buttery and flaky and melts in your mouth. The top of the tart is slightly chewy, yet soft in the middle and the flavor of the caramelized sugar and cream with hints of almond and orange is just out of this world. I actually don’t think it necessarily needs whipped cream, but it looks pretty and well, everything seems to be better with a little whip on top.
Storing and Other Tips
- Store finished tart, tightly covered, at room temperature and enjoy within 2-3 days for best results.
- This is one of those rare desserts that really needs to cool completely to be at its best. I try to make it several hours before I’m going to serve it for the best flavor and texture. In fact, I think it improves over time, so I make it as early in the day as I can.
- This can also serve a lot of people. Because it’s sweet and rich, you can get away with thin slices. Or you can eat like, seven thin slices yourself. I dare you not to!
- To toast almonds, lay in a baking sheet in a single layer. Bake at 375°F, watching carefully and tossing often until golden brown.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make this ahead of time?
Yes, make the tart up to 24 hours in advance and store, tightly covered, at room temperature or refrigerated until ready to serve. If topping with whipped cream, wait to add it until ready to serve.
Can I make this with other nuts or without the almonds?
This recipe was designed for use with almonds. It has not been tested with other nuts, but something like finely chopped macadamia nuts might work. I would not omit the nuts completely.
Can I make this gluten-free?
While I have not tried it myself, this recipe should translate well for use with a good quality 1:1 gluten-free flour blend. The crust might end up a little more crumbly, so cut and serve carefully!
Almond Toffee Tart
A chewy caramelized almond filling nestled in a delicate buttery crust.
Servings servings
Ingredients
Pastry
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- ¾ cup butter chilled
- 2 egg yolks from large eggs
Filling
- 1 ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons orange zest fresh
- 2 cups almonds sliced, toasted (see note)
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- sweetened whipped cream for serving optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325℉. Spray tart pan with nonstick spray and set aside.
- Prepare crust by cutting flour into butter until crumbly and then adding egg yolks. You may use a food processor, processing until pea-sized crumbs form. Dough will be slightly crumbly. Press dough into pan and up sides. Place tart pan on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and increase heat to 375 ℉.
- While pastry is baking, prepare filling. Combine cream, sugar, salt, and orange zest. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and add almonds and extract.
- Pour mixture into pastry crust, spread out almonds if necessary into an even layer.
- Return pan to oven and bake for 45-55 minutes, until the top is bubbly and starting to turn golden brown. **Baking time varies depending on ovens and pan so I highly suggest keeping an eye on it after about 40 minutes.
- Place pan on cooling rack and cool completely. This dessert is definitely one that is optimal after it's cooled and set (as opposed to warm.)
- When ready to serve, remove outer ring on tart pan and slice into small slices. If desired, top with sweetened whipped cream.
Notes
- To toast almonds, lay in a baking sheet in a single layer. Bake at 375 F, watching carefully and tossing often until golden brown.
- Store finished tart, tightly covered, at room temperature and enjoy within 2-3 days for best results.
- This is one of those rare desserts that really needs to cool completely to be at its best. I try to make it several hours before I’m going to serve it for the best flavor and texture. In fact, I think it improves over time, so I make it as early in the day as I can.
- This can also serve a lot of people. Because it’s sweet and rich, you can get away with thin slices.
Nutrition
Calories: 524kcal, Carbohydrates: 47g, Protein: 9g, Fat: 35g, Saturated Fat: 15g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g, Monounsaturated Fat: 14g, Trans Fat: 0.5g, Cholesterol: 97mg, Sodium: 150mg, Potassium: 235mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 27g, Vitamin A: 840IU, Vitamin C: 2mg, Calcium: 96mg, Iron: 2mg
Calories: 524kcal
Cost: $10
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Questions & Reviews
I love the Flashback Friday idea! I’ve been a dedicated reader for about five years, and I know I haven’t seen all the yumminess on here yet. 🙂
K I’m totally sold on this as an Easter tradition…and also a new eating contest 🙂
Wow! Home Run is right. You have three of my favourite ingredients in here…toffee, almonds, oranges. Wow! If you could fit coconut in there, it would truly be nirvana for me. However, even without the coconut, it still sounds fabulous, and I will try it for Easter. Guaranteed.
I had been wanting to make this for awhile now and finally did yesterday. It was sooooo delicious! I’m sad I didn’t make it sooner! Haha Thanks for another great recipe! I will definitely be making this again!
Well, I have it in the oven (and I messed up – I think my pan is not the correct size, because I couldn’t fit all the filling… so I’m eating it with a spoon right now and it is fantastic!!) for our Easter dinner tomorrow… and it’s overflowing. I’m hoping it will still turn out okay. At least it’s on a foil-lined pan, because I realized too late that my pan was too small. Based on the taste of the filling, I’ll be making this again – in the right pan!! Thanks for a great recipe 🙂
I just took the first slice of this, and it was ultra tasty! I left out the orange rind, it was still fantastic. I checked it at 32 minutes and the crust was starting to burn, so I pulled it out quick and everything else was just right! Thanks for the recipe!
OK – I just made this. . .it just came out of the oven. I was worried because I used a 10 inch ceramic pan, so I wasn't sure on cooking times. I started at 40 and think I ended up leaving it in for 70 or 75 (maybe 80 – I lost cost of how many time I added 5 minutes)! Apparently I'm not really sure what "caramelized" looks like. It has brown places but was mostly white so I kept leaving it in. Finally even though there are still some white places I took it out knowing that I'm surely overbaking it. . .looking at the pictures now, the done ones look kind of creamy vs. brown (should have studied earlier!). Also I don't see the almonds yet- just bubbles. Will see how it tastes and let you know! For future reference – what do you think caramelized looks like? Thanks!
Made this for Thanksgiving and it was a HIT–thanks for the great recipe!
I am going to make this for Thanksgiving. Thanks so much for sharing!
Finally made this last night for a luncheon today, and it was fantastic. I actually had to buy a tart pan — well worth it! It got rave reviews from all our office staff. Thanks a million!