Description

Don’t just make any pumpkin pie this year! All-natural oven-roasted Japanese Kabocha squash makes the perfect unexpected and delicious holiday dessert the whole family will love. Pecan-Crunch topping and a Biscoff cookie crust give this fall dessert everything it needs to put it over the top. But feel free to go ahead and dollop it with whipped cream.

Ingredients

Scale

Pumpkin Tart ingredients

1 pound 5 ounces raw Kabocha squash, diced (about 1/2 of a medium squash)(650g) OR use 13 ounces (365g) Libby’s canned Pumpkin
3 tablespoons mascarpone cheese (or cream cheese) (45g)
5 tablespoons heavy cream, room temperature (75g)
2 tablespoons milk, room temperature (or evaporated milk)(26g)
3 ounces sugar (scant 1/2 cup) (85g)
1/4 teaspoon salt (1g)
1 1/2 teaspoon homemade pumpkin pie spice (or McCormick’s brand recommended) (4g)
1 teaspoon homemade vanilla extract (or favorite brand) (5g)
1/2 to 1 teaspoon cinnamon (1.5 to 3g)
1 large egg (50g)
1 tablespoon flour (15g)

Biscoff Cookie Crust ingredients

1/2 recipe of a 2-Ingredient Biscoff Cookie Crust

Pecan Crunch Ingredients

2 ounces raw pecans (60g)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (28g)
2 tablespoons raw turbinado sugar (28g)
2 pinches of salt

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark even when your hands have flour all over them

Instructions

Preheat oven 425°F/220°C. and roast the pumpkin. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and add peeled and diced pumpkin in one layer. Roast for 20-30 minutes, or until fork-tender and slightly caramelized on the edges. Remove from the oven and reduce the heat to 350°F/176°C.
Prepare the tart pan. Lightly butter a rectangular tart pan with a removable bottom and line it with parchment paper on the bottom and along the sides.
Make the Biscoff crust. Add the cookies to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until they resemble coarse sand. Add the melted butter and combine using a fork or your hands. Add the cookie mixture to the prepared tart pan (or pie plate) and distribute evenly. Press the mixture down using a glass jar or the back of your hands. Bake for approximately 8 minutes, or until set. Remove from the oven to a cooling rack while you prepare the pumpkin filling and pecan crunch.
Prepare the pecan crunch. Melt the butter and pour it over pecans, add sugar and salt, and toss to coat the nuts and set aside until ready to decorate the tart.
Prepare the pumpkin filling. In the bowl of a food processor (or using a handheld mixer and medium mixing bowl), add roasted pumpkin mascarpone, heavy cream, milk, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, sugar, vanilla, and salt, and process until the mixture is smooth. Add the egg, blend until combined, and add the flour. Pulse a few more times just until the flour is mixed in.
Assemble and bake the tart. Pour the pumpkin mixture into the prepared crust, decorate it with Pecan Crunch, and bake for approximately 40 minutes, or until the top is set and cooked through. The edges will slightly puff up when the tart is ready. Remove it from the oven to a wire rack and allow it to cool completely. Refrigerate for at least 5 hours and even better overnight and Enjoy!

Notes

The 1lb 5 oz (650g) of raw kabocha squash used in this recipe, weighed 13 oz (365g) after being oven-roasted, so
If you want to maximize the use of your oven, I’d suggest prepping the Biscoff cookie crust first and baking it while the oven is preheating to roast the kabocha squash.
Substitute Libby’s Canned Pumpkin for the Kabocha squash purée, for an even quicker holiday pumpkin pie dessert. Libby’s 15oz can (425g) contains 2 ounces more pumpkin than is used in this recipe. I think the amount is so little that it probably wouldn’t negatively affect the end result although, I’ve not tried it. Up to you! If you try it out, let us know how it turns out.
Substitute full-fat cream cheese for mascarpone and it’ll have a little more “zip” and be just as yummy.
Feel free to chop all of the pecans, or leave them all whole. This part is up to you. If you want to cover the entire top of the tart, you’ll need double the amount of pecans called for.
Dice and Roast all of the Kabocha squash and use it for grain salads, or as a healthy delicious side for your next lunch or dinner.
If you’re using salted butter instead of unsalted butter for the Pecan Crunch, simply omit the salt called for in the recipe since the butter will already have added salt.
I used 1 full teaspoon of cinnamon and 1 1/2 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice, but if you’d like to use less go ahead. Taste the filling as you add and decide how much you want to use.

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Category: Pies + Cobblers + Crostate
Method: Oven Bake
Cuisine: American

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 slice