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1
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
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2
Tear off a piece of foil twice as large as crust.
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3
Fold it in half and smear it with butter; lay buttered side onto crust.
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4
Weight foil with a pile of dried beans or rice (these can be reused for this purpose), pie weights, or a tight-fitting ovenproof skillet or saucepan anything that will sit flat on the surface.
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5
Bake 12 minutes, then remove foil and continue to bake at 350 degrees, until crust is a beautiful shade of brown, another few minutes.
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6
Remove and let cool on a rack while you prepare filling.
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7
Put sugar in a heavy 6- or 8-inch saucepan or deep skillet with a tablespoon of water and turn heat to medium.
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8
Cook, gently shaking pan occasionally, until sugar melts; then cook, stirring occasionally and scraping sides with a heat-proof flexible spatula, until mixture turns golden.
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9
Turn heat to low, then carefully add butter and cream.
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10
Cook, stirring constantly, until butter melts and mixture is uniform.
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11
Stir in walnuts and a large pinch of salt if you like, then spread on crust.
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12
Refrigerate for about an hour, then sprinkle with a little more salt and serve.
