Spiced Pumpkin Tart

By Sally Cameron on November 25, 2013

Baked Goods, Dessert, Gluten-Free, Holiday Dishes, Thanksgiving

This spiced pumpkin tart is just what to serve for your Thanksgiving feast finale. Whip it up in a food processor and pour into the pre-baked, gluten-free almond tart crust. Make it a day ahead to save time on the big day when your schedule is crazy and the kitchen is jumpin’. Making this pumpkin tart is easier than pumpkin pie and dealing with a pastry crust.

Pumpkin Tart or Pumpkin Pie?

It might sound crazy, but I like tarts more than pies. Just a slim little piece to finish a feast like Thanksgiving. Just enough. The filling for this tart is a combination of cream cheese and pumpkin puree, eggs, plus warm spices and vanilla. Pretty simple, and oh yes, wonderful.

For spices, I use cinnamon, clove and allspice. You can add ginger, nutmeg, mace or try a blend or Chinese Five Spice. Tailor the spices to your own taste.

Adding Sweetness

The tart needs just a little sweetness, so I started with maple syrup, then tasted the puree. It was good, but needed a little more sweetness. Not wanting to add more sugar, I turned to liquid stevia for that added boost. Use either the vanilla creme by Sweet Leaf, or the pumpkin spice flavor. They are available online and at many grocers.

This is where you must taste and adjust for your own preference. We don’t like things super sweet, so this pumpkin tart is not, like many traditional pumpkin pies, sickeningly sweet.

Pumpkin Filing – Puree and Pour

Start by making an almond-coconut crust. Once the crust is ready to go (you can do this a day or two ahead), make the filling. To create the filling, simply puree all of the ingredients together in a food processor. Pour into the pre-baked almond-coconut crust and bake again, Cool, chill and serve. note that the filing will be fairly fluid, but it will set up with baking, cooling and refrigerating.

Cream Cheese & Baking Notes

I’ve discovered that using block versus tub cream cheese requires a little difference in baking time. If using tub cream cheese, use an extra egg yolk. Check the tart at 30 minutes. If it’s still pretty jiggly, bake approximately an extra 10-12 minutes until not jiggly in the middle, then pull from the oven and cool. Timing will depend on your oven and whether you use convection or not. I prefer baking this tart without convection if possible. If you use convection and it puffs a little, it will settle as it cools. You can bake the tart a day ahead.

For Garnish For garnish, you can softly whip heavy cream with a little vanilla and stevia, honey or agave. For a tangier topping, try Green Valley Organics sour cream with the vanilla and a little sweetener. It’s more like a French creme fraiche. Really nice and a bit different because of the tang. You can even whisk this together by hand.

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