Pumpkin Tart with a Coconut Flour Crust

"There are three things I've learned never to discuss with people: religion, politics, and the Great Pumpkin."

Linus ("It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown")

Pumpkin Tart with a Coconut Flour Crust (Using a 9" Tart Pan)

When I think of pumpkin, the traditional orange variety is the usually the first thing which springs to mind. This is probably  because it is the type of pumpkin most commonly found in the US, where I grew up. Having lived in Singapore for several years now, I have become accustomed to using whatever type of pumpkin I am able to find in the wet markets and grocery stores, but very rarely is it the 'traditional' orange 'sugar' pumpkin (which is normally only imported to Singapore around Halloween). What we tend to find here in Singapore are pumpkins from Malaysia, Japan and Indonesia, but it is in fact China and India who are the two biggest pumpkin-producing nations in the world. How’s that for a little pumpkin trivia? I absolutely love pumpkin and I tend to use it year-round in all of my cooking. Some of my favorite pumpkin-inspired dishes include pumpkin bread, pumpkin tarts, pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin pancakes, roasted curried pumpkin, creamy pumpkin soup and even spicy Thai pumpkin soup (starring pumpkin, coconut milk, chilies and lime).

Whatever dish I decide to create, I always follow one simple rule: fresh pumpkin (because let's face it...when possible, fresh is always better...sorry canned pumpkin). This pumpkin tart recipe below was the result of me wanting to create a healthy-ish pumpkin dessert with some local coconut flavor. The filling is subtle and creamy, while the crust is crispy with a hint of coconut. Just in time for the Thanksgiving holidays. I hope you enjoy it!

INGREDIENTS FOR PUMPKIN FILLING

• 1 1/4 cups fresh pumpkin puree (roast half of a small 'Sugar' pumpkin - the orange kind which pops up around Halloween)

• 1/2 cup full fat Greek yogurt

• 2 eggs

• 1/2 tsp good quality cinnamon (or freshly grated from a cinnamon stick if you prefer)

• 1/2 cup light brown sugar OR gula melaka (see more on sugar under tips below)

• 1 tsp good quality vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS FOR PUMPKIN FILLING

1. Cut your pumpkin (there are lot's of varietals but a sugar pumpkin is usually best for baking) in half and scrape out the seeds.
2. Place the pumpkin half on a baking sheet and rub with a teaspoon of olive oil.
3. Roast the pumpkin on 180 degrees C / 356 degrees F for about 1 hour, or until the pumpkin flesh is soft and you can easily stick a fork through it.
4. Remove the pumpkin from the oven and let it cool. Once it is cool, you can remove the skin and reserve only the flesh.
5. Measure 1 1/4 cups roasted pumpkin into a measuring cup (pumpkin will be soft so pack it tightly in the measuring cup) and place in a blender
6. Add the Greek yogurt, eggs, cinnamon, brown sugar and vanilla extract to the blender together with the pumpkin and puree until smooth. 
7. Add the pumpkin mixture to the cooled tart crust and bake on 176 C degrees / 350 F degrees for about 40-45 minutes, or until knife inserted into center comes out clean.

INGREDIENTS FOR SIMPLY SWEET TART CRUST RECIPE (MAKES ONE 9" TART CRUST)

NOTE: For this recipe, I used my 'Simply Sweet Tart Crust Recipe' which is my go-to tart crust recipe. Although, I did make a slight modification and substituted half of the white flour for coconut flour, in order to create a subtle coconut flavor and achieve a slightly healthier crust. So, my recommendation is to follow the simply Sweet Tart Crust recipe measurements for 1 1/4 cups flour, but half of the flour should be coconut (1/2 + 2 Tbsp coconut flour) and half should be white flour (1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp white flour).  

The crust can also be made by replacing 100% of the white flour with coconut flour (which I tested and it worked perfectly well), but it will result in a slightly drier crust (since there is less gluten in coconut flour) and it requires a slightly shorter baking time for the pre-baking of the crust (it browns more quickly when using coconut flour only).

• 1 stick of unsalted (113 grams or about 8 Tbsp), grass-fed butter, melted 
• 1 1/4 cups flour of which half should be coconut flour (1/2 + 2 Tbsp) and half should be white flour (1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp). You can add more if the dough is too sticky but be careful not to add too much to avoid a dry crust - the dough should be soft but not sticky)
• 1/4 tsp flaky or ground sea salt
• 4 tablespoons sugar (you can experiment with different types of sugar to achieve different flavors, such as coconut sugar, etc., but it may alter the color of the dough)
• 1 vanilla bean pod, halved and seeds scraped out

DIRECTIONS

1. Pre-heat your oven to 175 degrees C / 350 degrees F.
2. Mix the melted butter, sugar and the salt in a large bowl and stir until combined.
3. Stir in the flour  and mix gently until all of the flour is combined and you have a soft ball of dough).
4. Press the dough evenly into your mini tart pans (with removable bottom) or into the bottom of a 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Using your fingers, press the dough gently along the bottom of the pan and up the sides so that it coats the pan evenly. Keep in mind that the thickness should be the same on the bottom and sides of the pan in order to achieve an even crust.
5. This step is important: cover the tart crust with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator or freezer for 30-40 minutes (the crust should be firmly chilled). Once the crust is firm, gently poke holes in your crust with a fork (this keeps the crust from puffing up) and place it directly into your pre-heated oven to bake until lightly golden (about 20-25 minutes - because every oven is different, doneness is best judged by the light golden brown color of the tart crust). Remove your crust from the oven and let it cool completely before adding the pumpkin filling.

TIPS

• For more information on gula melaka, see my cinnamon buns post 
• I am of the belief that you can experiment with different types of sugar in baking to achieve different tastes and textures so you could try substituting coconut sugar or white sugar for brown sugar if you prefer. I prefer the rich, caramel flavors which are characteristic of gula melaka and brown sugar. I used gula melaka in my tart and it gave a lovely subtle sweetness with rich caramel undertones. You could also try mixing different sugars, or using more sugar if you prefer a sweeter tart.
• When I mention a 'good quality' extract or spice in the ingredients list, I am usually referring to a product which is derived from real ingredients, rather than just artificial aroma's or artificial ingredients. You are of course, welcome to use whatever you prefer, but a good quality product will give you a more flavorful product.