With Thanksgiving being just over a week away, I wanted to squeeze in one more dessert recipe that would be perfect for the holiday, but also casual enough for any fall or winter meal. If you’ve been reading my blog for the past year or so, it’s no secret that making pies isn’t my strong suit, mostly because I don’t have the practice but also since I’m more of a cake person than a pie person. Because of my inexperience with this dessert, I decided to forgo giving you a pumpkin pie recipe and instead I’m offering a much easier and less stressful option: the pumpkin tart. Side note: if you want a pie recipe from me, here’s the recipe for my deep dish apple pie from last year, including 10 tips to achieving a “perfect” pie in the kitchen.
A pumpkin tart isn’t too different from a pumpkin pie when it comes to the filling, but one huge distinction is that the former doesn’t require making pie dough - something that a lot of people struggle with since it’s not only time consuming, but also difficult to get right (the pie dough can be too dry, too wet, hard to work with, etc.). With my pumpkin tart, it’s like you’re making a pumpkin pie but with a graham cracker (or gingersnap cookies) crust and simply pressing it into a fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. There’s no need to worry about chilling the dough, having the dreaded soggy bottom or blind-baking that comes with making a pie; you just need to partially bake the crust for about 8-10 minutes before adding the filling… and that’s it, It’s ridiculously simple.
I also decided to add toasted pecans to my crust to give it more flavor, but if you have nut allergies or just want a plain graham cracker crust, simply replace the nuts with more graham cracker crumbs, so the total in graham cracker crumbs would be 1 3/4 cups.
As for the filling, it’s as effortless as it gets. You’ll mix together the basic ingredients for a custard (milk, heavy cream, eggs, sugar), add an entire can of pumpkin purée, some vanilla extract and traditional pumpkin pie spices. The custard doesn’t need to be cooked before being added to the pan - you just pour it over the graham cracker crust and bake it in the oven until the tart is mostly set (we want a little jiggle in the middle, much like when baking a normal pumpkin pie or a cheesecake). The whole dish comes together in just about an hour, which is incredible when comparing the time it takes to make a pumpkin pie. You can essentially make this on Thanksgiving itself if you wanted, but I suggest making it the day beforehand and storing it in the fridge so you have one less thing to worry about. When it comes time to serving the tart, I definitely recommend topping it off with fresh whipped cream, a dusting of confectioners’ sugar or ground cinnamon, and/or a scoop of ice cream (my maple pecan ice cream would be SO GOOD with this).
For the first time in my 30 years on this planet, I am making an entire Thanksgiving meal by myself (with Alex being my sous chef) and I am equal parts excited and nervous. Please wish me luck and let’s hope I don’t ruin everything. But seriously, I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving, whether you’re with friends, family or by yourself. 2020 has been a real bummer, so I hope we can all have a nice and relaxing day… without spreading Covid.
P.S. Here’s 10 other recipes of mine that would be perfect for Thanksgiving:
Pumpkin and Brown Butter Breakfast Puffs (for breakfast the next day!)
Pumpkin Cheesecake (my go-to dessert every Thanksgiving)
Union Square Cafe’s Bar Nuts (a perfect appetizer)
Pumpkin Tart
Yields (1) 9-inch tart
Recipe adapted from Delish
Ingredients
For the crust:
1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs (or gingersnap cookies)
1/2 cup pecan halves
2 tbsp. brown sugar
5 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
Pinch of kosher salt
For the filling:
4 large eggs
1 can (15oz.) pumpkin purée
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed (light or dark)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. freshly grated or ground nutmeg
Pinch of kosher salt
Fresh whipped cream, ice cream, confectioners’ sugar or ground cinnamon, to finish
Directions
Make the crust:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the pecan halves on a rimmed baking sheet and toast them in the oven for about 8-10 minutes. Allow them to cool for a couple minutes.
Transfer the pecans to a food processor fitted with the S-blade and pulse until finely chopped.
In a medium bowl, stir together the pecans, graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, melted butter and salt. Transfer the mixture to the tart pan and, using the back of a measuring cup, firmly press the crust mixture into the bottom of the pan as well as the sides.
Bake in the oven (on a baking sheet, for easy transfer) for 9-10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool while preparing the filling. Raise the oven temperature to 375°F.
Make the filling;
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs until thoroughly combined. Add in the rest of the filling ingredients - pumpkin purée, milk, heavy cream, brown sugar, vanilla extract, spices and salt - and stir together using a spatula or wooden spoon.
Pour the filling into the tart pan (you may have more filling than needed, so only fill to just below the top of the crust line). Bake in the oven on a baking sheet for about 40 to 45 minutes - the center may be a bit jiggly but that’s exactly what you’re looking for.
Allow the tart to cool completely before removing from the tart pan. Serve with fresh whipped cream, ice cream and/or a dusting of confectioners’ sugar or ground cinnamon,