Pumpkin Tart

When I was living in the States last year, I had tried this recipe from Martha Stewart Living. Since I had success with it (and had purchased a tart-pan earlier this year), I decided to try it again. Sadly, my original recipe called for a 10-inch tart pan - and currently pan is only 7-inches, which made for some difficult reductions to the recipe below. I basically just used ¾ of everything for the crust (and had plenty of extra.) For the filling, I used just over half of everything (and still had extra.) If I was making this recipe again, I would probably just cut everything evenly in half.

Fortunately, most of the ingredients were readily available in Korea. I did have to start with fresh pumpkin rather than canned, but that was a surprisingly easy experience. I simply purchased a small baking pumpkin (much smaller than a Jack-o'lantern pumpkin.) I sliced the pumpkin into small chunks (removing the seeds & slimy inners and peeled the outside using a vegetable peeler.) Then, I simply boiled the chunks for about 20-minutes and passed through my blender. I was also unable to locate sour cream in my area, so I simply substituted Greek yogurt with a small amount of baking soda added (1 t. baking soda per cup of yogurt.) I will also warn that I used a dark brown sugar in the filling, which resulted in a much darker coloring; last year, I must have used the specified "light" brown sugar because the coloring was totally different! However, the end result was well-loved by both my co-workers and students, so I'm happy.


Chocolate Tart Crust
yields one 10-inch tart

1 c. all-purpose flour
¼ c. plus 1 T. sugar
¼ c. unsweetened cocoa powder
½ t. salt
½ t. cinnamon
½ c. (1 stick) cold butter
1 egg
4 oz. semisweet chocolate

Mix flour, sugar, cocoa powder, salt, and cinnamon. Divide butter into small pieces and cut into dry mixture until butter pieces are the size of peas. Add the egg and mix until it forms dough. Roll the dough to approximately 1/8 inch on a well-floured surface. Press the rolled dough into a 10-inch tart pan (with a removable bottom.) Use a fork to prick the crust bottom, and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Bake for 15 minutes at 350°F. Carefully remove from oven and add finely chopped chocolate over the warm crust. Spread with a spatula until completely melted and smooth.


Pumpkin Filling
1 can (15 oz) Pumpkin (not pie filling)
¾ c. light brown sugar
8 oz. sour cream
3 large eggs
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. ground ginger
¼ t. nutmeg
¼ t. salt
2 oz. semisweet chocolate (optional)

Combine all ingredients except for chocolate and stir until smooth. (Pass mixture through a sieve if large chunks remain.) Pour into chocolate crust and bake at 350°F for 40-50 minutes. Let cool on a rack for at least 30 minutes. Melt chocolate in a double boiler until the chocolate is smooth and creamy. Pour into a plastic bag with a small hole cut in a bottom corner. Pipe a spider web design on the top of the cooled pumpkin. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour (up to 1 day.)