1. Whisk the egg white in a small bowl until frothy. Lift out 1 tablespoon of the egg white and transfer to the egg yolk. Add vanilla to the egg yolk and whisk until combined. (Set aside the remaining egg white in the fridge-- you will use it later to 'seal' the crust.)
2. Combine the walnuts and powdered sugar in a food processor and grind until well-combined. Add the flour and salt and process until combined. Add the cold butter until it resembles coarse bread crumbs.
3. Add the egg yolk mixture to the food processor and run until the dough forms a ball.
4. Remove and shape into a 6-inch disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and set in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
5. After 30 minutes, lightly flour two large sheets of cling wrap. Set the dough disk on one sheet, then cover with the other. Roll out dough with a rolling pin into a 13-inch sheet. Set on a baking sheet in the freezer for 15 minutes.
6. Remove dough from freezer and peel off top layer of cling wrap. Overturn into a greased 9-inch tart pan. This dough is really forgiving, so just pat it into the pan and use the scraps that hang over the edges to make sure the crust is solid without holes or patches. Refrigerate crust in tart pan for 30 minutes.
7. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place refrigerated tart pan on a baking sheet. Set a piece of foil in the crust and place pie weights in it, distributing evenly. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and pie weights and bake for an additional 10 minutes.
8. Remove the tart shell from the oven and cool the whole thing, baking sheet and all on a cooling rack. Brush the inside of the tart shell with the reserved egg white from earlier.

For the cajeta and walnut filling:

1. You should have approximately 1-1/2 cups of cajeta. Either let it sit at room temperature for a half hour or so, or heat it in the microwave for about 30 seconds to soften it a bit. Add the 1 cup of toasted walnuts.
2. Pour the filling into the cooled tart shell, spreading evenly.

For the chocolate ganache:

1. Whisk the egg yolk with the one tablespoon of cream. Set aside.
2. Place the milk and 1/4-cup cream in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer.
3. Remove from heat and add the chocolate and butter. Cover for 2 minutes. Use a spatula to stir the contents until you have a smooth chocolate mixture.
4. Stir in the egg yolk mixture until smooth.
5. Pour the mixture over the caramel filling in the tart shell, covering the whole thing.
6. Preheat oven to 300 degrees and bake for 25 minutes until the filling is still shiny and a bit wobbly.
7. Arrange the salted toasted walnut halves around the perimeter of the tart.
8. Cool on a cooling rack for 30 minutes, then refrigerate, uncovered, for 3 hours.

Labels: recipes, the chocolatey, the sweet

• Zoka Coffee Roasters: I was estatic when they put one of these in our old neighborhood (there are two of them). Plus, a double shot is included in the basic latte. But, that said, I usually would take my coffee to go because the laptop snob scene is totally intolerable.
• Zeitgeist Espresso: Great coffee in the pioneer square area
• Caffe Ladro: a local chain that has an outlet in every hip neighborhood. Not as good as Zoka, but I've had above average coffee here in every shop I've been in.
• Diva Espresso: nice latte art
• Espresso Vivace: The Original, and where every barista seems to learn the art

I heart you, coffee! (from the Zoka website)

Anyway, that's all for my homesick post of the day. Seattlelites (and now New Yorkers) enjoy your coffee!

NY Times: Espresso's New Wave Hits Town

• A few dozen bagels from Gourmet Garage (plus some onion bialys-- yum!) This was much appreciated, especially since they were willing to suffer a 7 hour plane ride smelling like onions.
  Actual New York onion bagel + cream cheese + coffee = paradise
• A dozen samosas from an Indian deli in Jackson Heights (yes, friends, the real deal!)
• A giant bag of shrimp crackers from the Korean store
• Litchi and grape gummy candies for the kids
• Two cans of ancho chile powder from Dean & Deluca (my fave for making chili)
• A copy of Julie & Julia (Julianna did the book cover, which is fantastic)-- I burned through this book in about three days... it's really good!

Thanks guys, for all the American treats! You are welcome anytime. :)