Brown Sugar Tart: The Only Pie Recipe You'll Ever Need | Brooklyn to the Catskills | Recipes, Real Estate & Entrepreneurs (2024)

Have you ever heard of a Brown Sugar Tart? Neither had I until I received my last issue of Milk Street Magazine, and I’m excited to report it is one of the most delicious desserts I’ve ever tasted! The tart consists of a buttery crust, a molten brown sugar bottom, and a custard top that all blend together in each bite to form a perfect combination of rich, creamy, indulgent flavors and textures.

You’ll Go Back for Thirds

It’s no secret that I like to bake but when I bake I taste, I don’t eat. This Brown Sugar Tart turned me into an eater, an eater that came back for seconds and would have come back for thirds except my stomach was starting to hurt. If there is one recipe you try this summer make it the Brown Sugar Tart, and then slice it thin to take the edge of your guilt when you go back for seconds and maybe even thirds. Pair the Tart with our Vegetarian Sausages that you cook up on the grill and eat with a salad instead of on a roll – you need a good base before you indulge in something this decadent!

The Recipe

Remember, before getting started read through all of the steps in the recipe and have all of your ingredients out, prepped and ready to go. When you’re ready to roll out the pie crust make sure it is the right temperature, if it has been chilling for more than an hour let it sit out on the counter before 10 minutes before rolling, or try whacking it with your rolling pin to soften it up.

Pie Crust

Ingredients

3 Tablespoons water

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

10 Tablespoons salted butter, cut into 1/2″ pieces and kept cold

2 Tablespoons sour cream

Step 1, Make the pie dough:

1. Whisk water and cornstarch together in a small bowl. Then microwave until set, about 30-40 seconds, stirring halfway through. Chill in your freezer for 10 minutes.
2. After the cornstarch mixture has chilled, combine flour, sugar and salt and process until mixed in a food processor, about 5 seconds. Add the chilled corn-starch mixture and pulse until consistently ground, about 5 pulses. Add the butter and sour cream and process until the dough comes together and begins to collect around the blade, about 20-30 seconds. Pat the dough into a 4″ disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour and up to 48 hours (or if you want to make the pie right away freeze for 15 minutes).

Step 2, Roll out and blind bake the pie crust:

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees F, with oven rack in the middle. Flour your counter and roll dough into a 12″ circle.
2. Hang dough over the rolling pin and transfer to a 9″ tart pan, making sure it is properly centered. Push the sides of the dough into the edges and sides of pan, then use your rolling pin to roll off the excess dough that hangs over the side of the pan.
3. If you’ve been working with your dough for a while and it’ starting to soften or get tacky through it back in the fridge for a bit to make sure it is chilled. Then line the shell with foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans.
4. Bake until the edges of the crust are light golden brown, about 25 minutes, making sure to rotate the plan about half-way through.
5. Remove the weights and foil and continue to bake until the bottom of the shell begins to show color, about another 5-7 minutes.
6. Let cool on wire rack for 1 hour before filling.
7. If you decide to bake the crust in advance (good for you!) it can be wrapped in plastic wrap and kept at room temperature for up to 48 hours.

Brown Sugar Tart

Ingredients

8 Tablespoons of packed dark brown sugar

1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

4 large egg yolks

1 1/4 cups heavy cream

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Step 1, Make the filling:

1. Set oven racks in middle and lower positions, preheat to 325 degrees F.
2. Combine 2 Tablespoons of dark brown sugar with the flour and salt in a medium bowl. Add the yolks, whisk until combined. Add cream and vanilla and whisk until smooth. Sprinkle the remaining 6 Tablespoons of dark brown sugar over the warm crust and gently press into an even layer.
3. Slowly pour the custard over the dark brown sugar.

Step 2, Bake:

1. Bake on your oven’s middle rack until the edges are set but the center jiggles a bit, about 25 minutes. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for at least an hour.
2. Remove the outer metal ring and serve at room temperature.

Tell us what you think!

Please comment below if you try the tart and let us know how it goes! And find all of Brooklyn to the Catskills‘ recipes in the Food section of our website, we’d love to hear what you think about those too! And don’t forget to subscribe to Milk Street Magazine, the original Brown Sugar Tart recipe is theirs!