Best Pine Nut Orange Caramel Sauce Recipes

CARAMEL-NUT TART

Steps:

• For crust:
• Using electric mixer, beat butter, powdered sugar, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Add egg yolk and cream; beat until smooth. Add flour and beat just until dough comes together. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface and knead briefly to combine. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic and freeze until firm, about 15 minutes.
• Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 12-inch round. Transfer to 9-inchdiameter tart pan with removable bottom. Gently fit dough into pan, trimming all but 1/2 inch of overhang. Fold overhang in, forming double-thick sides. Pierce bottom of crust all over with fork. Freeze 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Line crust with foil. Fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake until sides are set, about 20 minutes. Remove foil with beans. Bake crust until golden, pressing with back of fork if crust bubbles, about 20 minutes longer.
• Meanwhile, whisk egg white in small bowl until thick and foamy.
• Brush hot crust lightly with some beaten egg white and place on rack to cool. Maintain oven temperature.
• For filling:
• Stir sugar and 1/4 cup water in heavy medium saucepan over low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to boil, brushing down sides of pan with wet pastry brush. Cook until syrup is deep amber, swirling pan occasionally, about 9 minutes. Remove from heat and pour in juice, then cream. Whisk over low heat until smooth. Whisk in butter, honey, orange peel, vanilla, and salt. Stir in cashews, pine nuts, and walnuts.
• Pour filling into crust. Bake tart until filling is bubbling thickly all over, about 22 minutes. Cool tart completely on rack. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover with foil and store at room temperature.
• Cut tart into wedges and serve.

PEARS IN HONEY AND PINE NUT CARAMEL WITH ARTISANAL CHEESE

Steps:

• Cook unsalted butter in large nonstick skillet over mediumhigh heat until beginning to brown. Add pear halves, cut side down, to skillet. Drizzle honey over pears and swirl pan slightly to blend butter and honey. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and cook until pears are tender when pierced with paring knife, swirling skillet occasionally and adding a few tablespoons water to skillet if caramel sauce turns deep amber before pears are tender, about 12 minutes.
• Transfer pears, cut side up, to serving platter. Top pears with cheese. Return skillet with caramel sauce to medium-high heat; add pine nuts to skillet and sprinkle lightly with sea salt. Cook until sauce in skillet is brown and bubbling, about 2 minutes. Spoon sauce over pears and serve.
• WHAT TO DRINK:
• Finish this meal on a sweet note with a late-harvest dessert wine. The honeyed pear and quince flavors of the 2006 "Le Vol des Anges" ($30) from California's Bonny Doon Vineyard are perfect with this dessert. Plus, the Roussanne grapes the wine is made from are produced using biodynamic practices.

BURNT ORANGE CARAMEL SAUCE

Steps:

• Have everything you need for the sauce at hand; it comes together so quickly it's best to give it your full attention.
• Remove the zest from the oranges in long thin strips with a zester (do not use rasp or peeler).
• Juice the oranges and set aside.
• Combine the zest, sugar, lemon juice and water in a small saucepan (The lemon juice helps avoid crystallization) Heat to boiling over medium heat.
• As the water and sugar melt, they will foam in large frothy bubbles.
• Never stir the caramel, but rotate the pan so the liquid moves the sugar around for even melting.
• Watch the liquid turn from clear to gold; from this point it will quickly turn to amber and burn.
• Remove the pan from the heat as soon as it appears dark gold.
• Place a mesh strainer over the pot (this prevents spattering) and add the orange juice.
• Add the butter to the pot and return to the heat.
• Add the whipping cream and stir until any remaining lumps dissolve.
• Strain to remove the zest.
• Store in the refrigerator and warm like a baby bottle- in the microwave or in a simmering pan of water.

PINE NUT-ORANGE CARAMEL SAUCE

Steps:

• Cook sugar and orange juice in heavy medium saucepan over low heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and boil without stirring until syrup turns deep golden brown, brushing down sides of pan with wet pastry brush and swirling pan occasionally, about 15 minutes; mixture will be foamy. Add cream and butter (mixture will bubble) and whisk until smooth. Whisk over medium heat until mixture thickens slightly and is deep caramel color, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Whisk in sour cream. Stir in pine nuts. Let cool 5 minutes. Mix in orange peel. Cool until just warm. (Can be prepared 3 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Rewarm over low heat before serving.)