I have accumulated lot of different bakeware over the years, but for some reason I’ve never bought or received a tart pan. I finally decided to get one this weekend, braving the holiday crowd madness.
Pumpkin and cream cheese is a perfect combination, and the gingersnap crust is an easy and delicious touch. This is also super quick to whip up; much faster than my favorite Pumpkin Pie, but still filled with pumpkin goodness.
Marbled Pumpkin Gingersnap Tart
Adapted, slightly from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook Serves 8 The recipe does not call for pre-baking the crust, however next time I think I might try that to keep it a bit crisper – 350-degrees for 8-10 minutes should do the trick. For the pumpkin filling, I would start with 3/4 cup of heavy cream and then add more if you think you need it.Crust
4 ounces (115 grams) gingersnap cookies (about 16 cookies), coarsely broken 3 ounces (85 grams) graham crackers (5 1/2, graham-cracker sheets) 1/4 cup (55 grams or 1/2 stick) salted butter, melted cold.Cheesecake batter
4 ounces (115 grams) cream cheese, well softened 3 tablespoons (40 grams) granulated sugar 1 large egg yolkPumpkin batter
1 large egg 1 large egg white 1 1/4 cups (10 1/2 ounces or 300 grams, about 1/2 to 3/4 of a 15- ounce can) pumpkin purée 1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated white sugar 1/4 cup (50 grams) brown sugar 1/2 teaspoon table salt 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract Few fresh gratings of nutmeg 3/4 to 1 cup (176 to 235 ml) heavy cream (see note)Make crust. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Finely grind the gingersnaps and graham crackers in processor (yielding 1½ cups). Add the melted butter, and process until the cookie- crumb mixture is moistened. Press the mixture firmly into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom; a measuring cup helps to pack the crumbs into the base and neatly up the walls of the tart pan. Place pan on rimmed baking sheet. If you decide to pre-bake the crust, do that now, otherwise proceed with the recipe.
Make cheesecake batter. Mix together the ingredients in a small bowl until smooth. I wanted to make sure my cream cheese was easy to marble, so I popped it in the microwave for about 15 seconds to get it nice and soft before adding in the sugar and cheese.
Make pumpkin batter. Beat the egg and the egg white lightly in a large bowl. Whisk in the pumpkin, sugars, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. Gradually whisk in the cream, starting with 3/4 of a cup and adding the remaining 1/4 if needed.
Assemble tart. Pour the pumpkin batter into gingersnap-graham crust. Dollop the cheesecake batter over pumpkin batter, marble the two together decoratively with a knife. Try not to pierce the bottom crust as you do. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce temperature to 350 degrees and bake for another 30 to 40 minutes, or until a knife or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. The edges of the filling should puff up, but still have a slight jiggle to the center. Cool the tart completely on a rack, and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Per Deb – Theoretically, it keeps for several days, but the crumb crust will get a little soft on the bottom after day one.
Thalia @ butter and brioche says
This pumpkin and gingersnap tart looks incredible, wish I had a slice to devour right now. Pinned!
steve says
Wish I would have researched this recipe before putting it in the oven just now because indeed the original recipe called for one full cup of cream and it sure seemed like a lot for the amount of pumpkin batter! It also seems like more crust would be better. Mine barely has enough to get an inch up the sides. We’ll see what we get! Thanks
H says
I too wish I had researched because my cream cheeese was room temp-ish, but definitely not runny enough for marbling. It smelled delicious baking, so despite the cheesecake islands in a sea of pumpkin goodness, I can wait to cut into it.
Victoria Liakos says
Hi! Do you think this could be made as bars in an 8×8 pan?