Ginger Pumpkin Tart

A fun twist on an autumn classic! This ginger pumpkin tart is incredibly flavourful with just the right amount of spice! The tart has a deliciously smooth pumpkin filling and a chewy ginger cookie crust. Perfect for any fall gathering!

It is finally starting to look and feel like fall here! The leaves are changing colours and there a definite crisp chill to the air. I am loving every minute of it! Fall is my favourite season. I love the colours, the cozy knits and the delicious flavours. One of the best things about fall? All things pumpkin of course!

I didn’t want to make your traditional pumpkin pie this year. I wanted to do something a little bit different. I recently purchase a couple of tart pans and I couldn’t wait to use them! I decided step outside the traditionally round pumpkin pie and make a pumpkin tart instead. Since I was already going with a non-traditional shape I figured I may as well change up the crust too. This ginger cookie crust is delicious! Its slightly more chewy and less flaky in texture than your typical pie crust. It is also incredibly flavourful! The ginger flavour pairs exceptionally well with the pumpkin filling. The filling itself is pretty typical of a pumpkin pie filling. Its full of delicious warming spices and is silky smooth!

Ginger Pumpkin Tart

Yield: One 14 by 4.5 inch tart
Time: The pumpkin filing and ginger cookie crust need to chill for 4+ hours

Ingredients

Pumpkin Filling

1 c pumpkin puree

¾ c brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tbsp corn starch

½ tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

1 ½ tsp pumpkin pie spice

½ c heavy cream

Pie Crust

1 c flour

½ c brown sugar

1 ½ tsp ginger

½ c butter, cold and grated

2 tbsp molasses

1 egg, beaten

Directions

For the filling: In a medium bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, brown sugar, and eggs until combined. Whisk in corn starch, salt, pepper, pumpkin pie spice. Finally, whisk in heavy cream until combined. Cover with plastic wrap and let chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours or up to overnight.

For the crust: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar and ginger. Cut in grated butter until mixture resembles wet sand. Stir in molasses and egg, mixing until dough is formed. Pour dough onto lightly floured plastic wrap and form into a disk. Place wrapped dough in the fridge for a minimum of four hour or overnight.

Pre-heat oven to 400F. Remove dough from plastic wrap and using a rolling pin, roll dough out into long rectangle until dough is about 1/8 inch thick. Lay dough across tart pan. Press dough lightly into bottom and sides of tart pan. Cover pan with a piece of plastic wrap and place in freezer for 30 minutes. Using a fork gently prick sides and bottom of dough with a fork. Par-bake dough for 10 minutes.

Drop oven down to 375F. Pour pumpkin filling into par-baked crust. Bake until the centre is almost set, about 25-30 minutes. Allow tart to cool completely before serving.

Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake with Cream Cheese Glaze

This pumpkin bundt cake with cream cheese glaze is full of rustic charm and warm fall spices making it the perfect addition to any holiday table. . 

And just when you thought I was going to make it through September without a single mention of pumpkin spice I go and prove you wrong! Ha. I will admit,  it does feel a little strange to be talking about pumpkin spice this and pumpkin spice that while its over 30 degree Celsius outside. Such crazy fall weather we are having!  But I wanted to share this deliciously moist pumpkin bundt cake with you. I think it will make the perfect addition to your Thanksgiving (dessert) menu!

Fall is my favourite season. I love the beauty in the changing colour of the leaves, all of the new shows on TV (anyone else super excited that This is Us is back?) and the general coziness of the season. Curling up with a cozy blanket and a good book is my idea of the perfect fall afternoon. Crisp fall mornings, apple picking and all things pumpkin - what's not to love?  This bundt cake with its warm fall spices just tastes like autumn to me. I love the combination of the pumpkin pie spices with the tanginess of the cream cheese glaze.  The pumpkin puree makes this bundt cake incredibly moist. The beautiful bundt cake pan creates a cake with a simple rustic elegance that is only enhanced by the cream cheese glaze. It makes the perfect dessert to serve at holiday gatherings but the bundt cake is simple enough to make that you will want to eat it during the week too. Omit the glaze and the pumpkin spice bundt cake makes the perfect breakfast paired with a hot cup of coffee. 

Pumpkin Bundt Cake with Cream Cheese Glaze 

Makes: One Bundt Cake 

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For the Cake

2 1/2 c flour 

2 tsp baking soda 

1 tsp baking powder 

1/2 tsp salt 

2 tsp pumpkin pie spice 

1/2 c butter, softened 

1/2 c sugar 

1/2 c brown sugar 

2 c pumpkin puree 

3 eggs 

1 tsp vanilla 

1/4 c milk 

For the Glaze

4 oz cream cheese 

3/4 c powdered sugar 

1 tsp vanilla 

1/4c heavy cream

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 350F. Grease and flour a bundt cake pan, set aside. 

In a medium bowl sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and pumpkin pie spice. 

In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, on medium-high speed beat together butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time scraping down the side of the bowl after each addition. Add in vanilla. Mix in pumpkin puree until just incorporated.  

On low speed, add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture. Mix until no streaks of flour remain. Add in milk until just incorporated.  Transfer batter to prepared bundt pan. Even out top with a spatula. Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Note: If the centre of the cake isn't fully baked through, but sides are browning cover with foil and bake until set.  Transfer cake to a wire rack to cool completely. 

While the cake is baking, make the cream cheese glaze.  In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, on medium-high speed beat together cream cheese and powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Slowly beat in heavy cream until desired consistency is reached.  Once cake is cooled, use an offset spatula to spread glaze over top. 

Pumpkin Spice Sugar Cookies with Maple Royal Icing

Sugar cookies are great because they are so versatile. Using different cookie cutters and icing techniques the possibilities of what you can create are endless. Allowing sugar cookies to work for every occasion. This year, I was looking for a fun fall twist to add to my sugar cookies. I wanted to go beyond just changing the shape and decorations. I wanted them to not only look like fall but taste like fall as well. Since the craze of the PSL it seems like there is now pumpkin spice EVERYTHING. So I figured why not cookies? These sugar cookies have a hint of that pumpkin spice flavour and a delicious maple royal icing. Since I added the flavour of fall into the cookies themselves, I decided to keep the decorating simple. I will share the tutorial later this week on how to decorate these beautiful white gilded pumpkins and leaves.

The Cookie

I not only wanted a cookie that tasted like pumpkin spice but it was really important to me that it held its shape. I wanted the cookie to be firm on the outside but still soft and chewy on the inside. You will notice that there is no baking powder or baking soda in this cookie - I did that on purpose to ensure that it doesn't spread while baking. 

I was a bit nervous to add brown sugar to the recipe as I know it can make cookies spread while baking due to its higher water content then regular sugar but I really wanted to add it for the flavour profile it brings. I decided to go with a 1/4 c of brown sugar and it seemed to be the perfect amount in terms of flavour and reduced cookie spread. 

You will notice that I added a small amount of black pepper to the dough. This is inspired by Sally's Baking Addiction pumpkin pie recipe - which is one of my absolute favourite pie recipes. The black pepper helps to bring out the pumpkin flavour along with the other spices. 

In order to ensure the cookie holds its shape while baking it is important that you allow it to chill in the fridge for a minimum of an hour before rolling it out. Once you cut your shapes allow the cut cookies to chill for an additional 10-15minutes before you bake them

The Royal Icing

I wanted to develop a royal icing flavour that would compliment the pumpkin spice cookie and pack some additional fall flavour.  I knew that Maple Syrup would be the perfect addition to the flavour profile of these cookies.  Be sure to use a high quality pure maple syrup when creating this royal icing. It will make all the difference in terms of flavour.  The icing recipe as written produces a fairly stiff frosting - more along the lines of a pipping consistency for sure. To achieve a flooding consistency slowly add additional water until your desired consistency is reached. I usually add water 1/2 a teaspoon at a time, making sure to mix throughly between each addition. You don't want to add too much water - super thin icing can be a nightmare to work with. There are many great tutorials on achieving the perfect icing consistency, personally I love Sweetopia's.

Pumpkin Spice Sugar Cookies

Yield: Approx. 3 Dozen Cookies

Ingredients:

3 1/4c flour

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp black pepper

1 c unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 c sugar

1/4 c brown sugar

1/4 c pumpkin puree

1 egg

Directions:

In a medium size bowl, sift together the flour and spices, set aside

In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment cream together the butter, sugar and brown sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Scrapping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula occasionally

To your butter and sugar mixture beat in your pumpkin puree and egg until just incorporated

On low-medium speed slowly mix in your flour and spice mixture to your pumpkin mixture. Mix until incorporated - taking care not to over mix. The dough should start to pull away from the sides of the bowl and begin to form a ball

Transfer dough to your work surface and shape into a large disk. Wrap the dough in saran wrap and chill in the fridge for 1 hour, minimum

Once dough is done chilling - preheat oven to 350F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper

Transfer dough to a floured surface. Using a rolling pin roll out the dough to approx. 1/4 inch thick

Cut out your cookies using your desired cookie cutters and transfer to lined baking sheets. Chill cut cookies for 10-15 minutes

Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes or until edges are slightly brown and centre is firmed. Allow cookies to cool on the pan for 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely

Maple Royal Icing 

Yield: Approx. 2.5 cups

Ingredients:

2.5 tbsp meringue powder

1/4 c water

2 tbsp maple syrup

4 c icing sugar

Additional water, if necessary

Directions:

In a small bowl whisk together meringue powder and water until foamy. Whisk in maple syrup until combined. Transfer mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment

Add all of the icing sugar to the maple mixture. Mix on medium speed for 5 minutes

If necessary, add small amounts of additional water to the royal icing to reach desired consistency