Walnut Honey Tart with Mascarpone

Pastry: Whiz butter, icing sugar, salt, flour and walnuts together to form breadcrumbs. Add water and pulse to form bigger, clumpy breadcrumbs. Tip on to the bench and squash and pat into a round fat disc, wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 15 minutes.

Remove the pastry from the fridge, sit for 5 minutes, then roll out between two pieces of baking paper. Remove the top piece of baking paper and place the pastry side down into a 25cm removable base tart tin. Remove the top layer of baking paper and squish the pastry well into the edges of the tin and up the sides, trimming away excess. Chill in the fridge for half an hour. Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Gently prick the base of the pastry with a fork and cut out a circle of baking paper a little larger than the tin. Line the pastry with baking paper and fill with baking beans or rice – it must come at least some way up the sides of the pastry. Cook for 10 minutes, carefully remove paper and beans/rice and cook a further 10 minutes until lightly golden.

Filling: Reduce oven temperature to 170°C. Heat honey, cream and butter together in a saucepan until butter has melted. Whisk in liqueur. In a large bowl whisk eggs, yolks, and vanilla bean seeds then stir in honey mixture and walnuts. Pour into prepared pastry base and cook 30–35 minutes until golden and set.

To serve: Serve warm or at room temperature with a scoop of mascarpone.  

Cook's tip: Nocino does have a strong flavour so be sure to try a little before adding it to your dessert.