Ray’s Holiday Nut Tart

This is spectacular—walnuts, hazelnuts and almonds traced with a filigree of glossy, midnight-black chocolate. There's no egg in the filling: The generous quantity of nuts is held together with a toffee-like mixture of honey, cream, butter and sugar. Believe it or not, this isn't killingly sweet; the bourbon cuts through it all. This filling also works beautifully as individual tartlets; see instructions on the next page.

The recipe is from Chris Wissmar, one of the cooks at Ray’s B