salted peanut tart

salted peanut tart

• 10 Aug 2025

I've had this salted peanut tart recipe bookmarked for ages but with so many other recipes that needed my attention, it fell by the wayside.

Whilst doing my research I discovered that peanut pie is a traditional recipe from the south made just like pecan pie but with peanuts instead of pecans. Instead of corn syrup, Deb Perelman from Smitten Kitchen made her filling with golden syrup or honey with a touch of apple cider vinegar and I found a Martha Stewart recipe which did the same. There is always golden syrup in my kitchen, so after I bought a packet of salted peanuts, the time had come to finally make this salted peanut tart. 

I made the pastry and lined the tin and had every intention of parbaking the crust, but when the time came, I couldn't be bothered. When I make pecan pie I don't parbake the crust because the pie is in the oven for 45-60 minutes on a preheated oven tray, which gives the pastry plenty of time to cook. However, this salted peanut tart is only in the oven for 30 minutes, so although the edges looked nice and golden, the pastry was still a little blonde on the base. Next time I'd start the bake on a lower rack to give the base a bit more heat and then I'd move it to the centre rack to set the filling.

You might notice a little bit of a volcanic eruption happened to the tart. There was a plumber in the building and I had to leave the tart mid bake to talk taps, so I wasn't able to keep a close eye on the tart, and when I did the filling had erupted. If you'd like to avoid this happening, keep an eye on the tart during the final 5-10 minutes of the bake.

Here's the recipe for you adapted from here, which makes a 33cm rectangular tart. For all my recipes I use a 250ml cup and a 20-ml tablespoon, unsalted butter and 60g eggs. My oven is a conventional gas oven so if your oven is fan forced you may need to reduce the oven temperature by 20°C.  If you'd like to make a 23-cm tart, just follow the link to the original recipe for the quantities. 

Salted peanut tart
Pastry
1 cup plain flour
60 grams cold unsalted butter
Pinch sea salt flakes
2-3 tbs water

Pastry
Combine the butter, flour and salt in a food processor. Gradually add sufficient water until a dough forms around the blade. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Roll out on a lightly floured surface to a 4-mm thickness then line a lightly greased 33 x 11 cm rectangular tin with the pastry. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before trimming the edges just before filling and baking. 

Filling
245g salted roasted peanuts 
55g unsalted butter
110g sugar (I used an even mix of brown and caster sugar)
95g golden syrup or honey
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp apple cider vinegar (optional)

1 tsp grated lemon rind (optional)

To serve
Sour cream or creme fraiche
Sea salt flakes
Icing sugar

Method
Place a tray onto the lower rack of the oven and preheat the oven to 200°C, conventional. 

Remove a 1/3 of the peanuts and set aside, then coarsely chop the remaining peanuts. Melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat until it starts to bubble. Continue cooking while whisking until it is golden brown. Immediately transfer to a bowl and leave to cool.

When cooled add the sugars, the golden syrup, the eggs, vanilla and vinegar (if using) to the bowl and whisk well. Finally stir in the chopped peanuts.

Pour the filling into the tart shell then top with the whole peanuts. Carefully place the filled tart onto the preheated tray; reduce the oven temperature to 180⁰C, conventional, and bake for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes move the tart, still on the tray, to the centre rack and cook for another 15 minutes or until the outside of the tart is set but the centre has a slight wobble. Allow the tart to cool completely before serving. 

If desired, you can dredge the tart with icing sugar just before serving. Serve with a dollop of sour cream or crème fraiche and a few sea salt flakes. 

If you have a peanut allergy, chopped toasted macadamia nuts would be a delicious alternative. 

This is a very tasty tart and it's not overly sweet. In fact I'd be inclined to  increase the sugar a little. Best of all, the pastry shell was nice and crispy even though it hadn't been parbaked and received special mention from my neighbour!

See you all again next week with some more baking from my kitchen.

Bye for now,

Jillian