Tart and photo by sugarpie © Sarah Phillips
This recipe is lighter and much more flavorful than regular pumpkin pie. I have made it many times and people really go nuts for it.
PIE RECIPE HELP
INGREDIENTS
Crust:
2 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 14 crackers)
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
Filling:
1/2 cup half-and-half
1 3/4 cups (one 15-ounce can) pumpkin puree
1 cup light or dark brown sugar, lightly packed
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 large egg yolks
1 package (2 teaspoons) unflavored gelatin
1 ripe banana, finely mashed
1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup cold heavy cream
2 tablespoons sugar
Decorations:
1 cup (1/2 pint) cold heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Orange zest (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
Crust:
1. Position the oven shelf to the middle and preheat to 350 degrees F.
2. Combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter in a bowl and mix well.
SARAH SAYS: I pour the crust ingredients right into the tart pan and mix there. It saves dirtying an extra bowl!
3. Pour crust mixture into an 11-inch tart pan with a removable bottom and press evenly into the sides and then the bottom.
Bake for 10 minutes and then cool to room temperature.
SARAH SAYS: I have used a 10-inch tart pan for this recipe; I just get a slightly thicker crust. I prefer the tin-plated metal pans, instead of the black steel ones, readily available in grocery and cookware shops. They are easier to maintain and do not rust. Make sure the tart pan has a removable bottom.
Filling:
1. Heat the half-and-half, pumpkin, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water until hot, about 5 minutes.
2. Whisk the egg yolks in another bowl, stir some of the hot pumpkin into the egg yolks to heat them, then pour the egg-pumpkin mixture back into the double boiler and stir well.
SARAH SAYS: Warming the eggs yolks by stirring some of the warm pumpkin mixture into the egg yolks is called tempering. It helps prevent the yolks from cooking or scrambling and ruining the pumpkin mixture.
3. Heat the mixture over the simmering water for another 4 to 5 minutes, until it begins to thicken, stirring constantly. You don't want the eggs to scramble. Remove from the heat.
4. Dissolve the gelatin in 1/4 cup cold water. Add the dissolved gelatin to the banana, and orange zest to the slightly cooled pumpkin mixture and mix well. Set aside to cool.
5. Whip the heavy cream in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment until soft peaks form. Add the sugar and continue to whisk until you have firm peaks.
6. Carefully fold the whipped cream into the pumpkin mixture and pour it into the cooled tart shell. Chill for 2 hours or overnight.
SARAH SAYS: When I whip cream, I make sure all of the utensils and the bowl are well chilled. It helps the cream whip to its fullest. I like to fold the whipped cream into the pumpkin mixture in two batches. It helps keep the air bubbles intact.
ASSEMBLY
For the decoration, whip the heavy cream in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until soft peaks form. Add the sugar and vanilla and continue to whisk until you have firm peaks. Pipe or spoon the whipped cream decoratively on the tart and sprinkle, if desired, with orange zest. Serve chilled.
SERVE
This tart can be made a day or two ahead and kept refrigerated. Decorate it with whipped cream an hour or two before serving.
STORAGE
Keeps for a couple of days refrigerated. The whipped cream will bleed water slightly. Pumpkin Banana Mousse Tarts do not freeze well.
Adapted by Sarah Phillips from The Barefoot Contessa's Family Style by Ina Garten
