Caramel Pumpkin Tart

Pumpkin pie, but as a caramel-infused, silky smooth tart

I’ll be on a Substack Live “Thanksgiving Hotline” on Monday, November 18, 4pm to 5pm PST. Bring your questions and join me and baker Paris Starn of Playing With Food and we’ll answer all of your burning questions! No pun ; ). I’ll send out a reminder on Substack Notes day-of.

Pumpkin Caramel Tart: If you’re a lover of traditional Thanksgiving desserts but don’t want to stray too far from the classics—yet still want to try something new—this is the recipe for you.

By caramelizing the sugar and adding it to the cream in the recipe, you get this gorgeous orange-gold color and a pure caramel flavor that marries perfectly with pumpkin (as opposed to adding brown sugar which tastes more of molasses). I also kept the spices at a minimum, substituted egg yolks for whole eggs, and used a pre-baked sweet shell. A low baking temp ensures a smooth, silky filling, and pre-baking the shell ensures that it is perfectly browned to prevent a soggy bottom. As the tart chills, it also develops this beautiful shiny, smooth top that looks like you could ice skate on it.

The crust is based on a classic ratio pastry chefs often use for cookies called 1-2-3 dough, which stands for roughly 1 part sugar to 2 parts butter to 3 parts flour. It’s one of those standard, back-pocket ratios we memorize that allows us to endlessly riff to make all sorts of cookies and crusts. In this case, an egg is added to the dough which makes it sturdier to hold up to fillings, and the butter in the recipe is melted which makes the dough less aerated to prevent cracks when baked. You also may notice that the amount of flour is a little more than that ratio, which makes up for the moisture from the egg.

Even after a couple of days in the refrigerator, the crust stays nice and dry on the bottom and has a good bite.

If you’re looking for some other holiday ideas, this cornbread would make a wonderful addition to stuffing or as an accompaniment on its own, Lemon-Grapefruit Posset makes a luxurious custard but is incredibly fast and simple to make, and the Caramel Apple Bars that I posted a few weeks ago would make a great apple pie sub, especially if you are baking for a large crowd as the recipe can be easily multiplied and made in large pans.

Caramel poured onto Silpat; patching cracks in the dough; filling frozen shell with beans for baking; finished tart