This year for Halloween something a little bit different was cooking up in the FoodGoblin kitchen. Spending hours whittling faces into Pumpkins around the kitchen table isn’t really my thing; good time that could have been spent eating wasted, if you ask me. Plus I was taxed to come up with something tasty and Halloween themed to cook for the cooking radio show that I present on, In Good Taste at Zone One Radio. Not a lover of American style pumpkin pie – claggy and bland in my opinion – I decided to stay away from that and doing something like a soup didn’t feel special enough.
The idea for the recipe came to me from an episode of Australian Master Chef. The contestants in a master class were taught a fig and frangipane tart with a pistachio crumble and the minute it came, glistening and sticky, from the oven my mind was consumed with desire to immediately possess it. Possess it in my stomach. I adapted it to form this recipe. Sweet, rich, toffee glazed pumpkin, nutty almond, soft frangipane and tart raspberry, deliberately unsweetened, washing through it all. Texture from the crumble. Fool proof pastry with not even the barest sign of a soggy bottom. It came out really really well and if you follow the recipe to the tee – always advisable anyway with pastry dishes – I’m sure it will do for you as well.
Serve with clotted cream or perhaps a Chantilly and with spare raspberry coulis on the side.
The idea for the recipe came to me from an episode of Australian Master Chef. The contestants in a master class were taught a fig and frangipane tart with a pistachio crumble and the minute it came, glistening and sticky, from the oven my mind was consumed with desire to immediately possess it. Possess it in my stomach. I adapted it to form this recipe. Sweet, rich, toffee glazed pumpkin, nutty almond, soft frangipane and tart raspberry, deliberately unsweetened, washing through it all. Texture from the crumble. Fool proof pastry with not even the barest sign of a soggy bottom. It came out really really well and if you follow the recipe to the tee – always advisable anyway with pastry dishes – I’m sure it will do for you as well.
Serve with clotted cream or perhaps a Chantilly and with spare raspberry coulis on the side.
Recipe
Ingredients (Serves 6-8):
Pastry:
120g unsalted butter, chopped
30g icing sugar
Pinch of salt
240g plain flour
1 egg, plus 1 yolk
Frangipane:
125g butter, softened
125g caster sugar
2 eggs
125g ground almonds
1 tbsp plain flour
1 tablespoon rum/amaretto/brandy
1/2 one small pumpkin
caster sugar – extra
butter – extra
2 punnet raspberries
2 tablespoons lemon juice
40g caster sugar
40g flour
30g butter, chilled and cubed
1 handful porridge oats or muesli
Honey
Method:
1. Preheat your oven to 180 Celsius. Scoop the seeds out of the pumpkin and the pulp. remove the skin. Slice the flesh into small, 2cm diced, cubes. Scatter on a baking tray and sprinkle with lots of caster sugar and dot cubes of butter around. Don’t worry about measuring either – just scatter the sugar until it lightly coats all of the pumpkin, and add about 3 tablespoons of the butter. Place into the oven and bake until soft and caramelised, about 30 minutes. If the pumpkin is looking a bit dry, add more butter and if it isn’t caramelising and turning golden brown and sweet, sprinkle more sugar. Remove from the oven and set to one side to cool.
2. For the crumble topping: lower the oven to 160 Celsius. Process the butter, sugar and flour until it forms the texture of breadcrumbs. Leave a few larger lumps of butter and don’t worry about getting it all uniform. If you don’t have a processor use your finger tips to rub it all together. Stir in some porridge or muesli oats. Lay on a baking tray on baking paper and put in the oven, stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes, until the crumble is golden. Set to one side and cool.
3. For the pastry: in a food processor (or in a large bowl using a whisk or fork) cream the butter, sugar and salt together until it is pale, fluffy and creamy, about 4 minutes. Don’t skimp on this stage. Add the flour and process into rough breadcrumbs. Add the egg and egg yolk and process to form a soft dough. If it is too wet add some more flour. Form into a lump with your hands, place on a floured surface and lightly press into a rectangle. Wrap in cling film and put into the fridge for 3o minutes to cool.
4. Remove from the fridge, place on a floured surface and roll out to about 3mm thick. Take a 20 inch (ish) metal pastry fluted tart tin with a removable bottom, buttered and dusted with flour. Lay the pastry into it, patching any holes that might form with spare pastry. Push the pastry into all the corners and drape the pastry over the edges. Refrigerate for about 20 minutes. Place baking paper on top and fill with baking beans, or dry lentils/rice (something that won’t burn in the oven). Place into the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes until the pastry is starting to turn a light golden. Then remove the beans and paper and return to the oven for a further 5 to brown the bottom of the pastry and to avoid the dreaded soggy bottom! This process is known as blind baking – you do it so that the pastry is already cooked with the filling goes in and so ends up crisp, cooked all through and not at all soggy!
5. To make the frangipane: blend/mix all of the frangipane ingredients into a smooth paste.
6. To make the raspberry coulis: blend raspberries and the lemon juice until smooth. Pass through a sieve to remove the pips and refrigerate until needed.
7. Spread the frangipane into the tart. Take the caramelised pumpkin and press it into the frangipane. Then press in whole raspberries. Take the filled tart and place into the oven. Bake for 30 minutes or until the frangipane is lightly browned and cooked just through, but is still a little wobbly. If the pastry starts to get too dark, cover with tin foil. Remove from the heat and brush with honey.
8. Use a knife to trim the overhanging pastry edges off and neaten the edges. Spoon a few drizzles of the raspberry coulis on the top of the tart and scatter the crumble.
Ingredients (Serves 6-8):
Pastry:
120g unsalted butter, chopped
30g icing sugar
Pinch of salt
240g plain flour
1 egg, plus 1 yolk
Frangipane:
125g butter, softened
125g caster sugar
2 eggs
125g ground almonds
1 tbsp plain flour
1 tablespoon rum/amaretto/brandy
1/2 one small pumpkin
caster sugar – extra
butter – extra
2 punnet raspberries
2 tablespoons lemon juice
40g caster sugar
40g flour
30g butter, chilled and cubed
1 handful porridge oats or muesli
Honey
Method:
1. Preheat your oven to 180 Celsius. Scoop the seeds out of the pumpkin and the pulp. remove the skin. Slice the flesh into small, 2cm diced, cubes. Scatter on a baking tray and sprinkle with lots of caster sugar and dot cubes of butter around. Don’t worry about measuring either – just scatter the sugar until it lightly coats all of the pumpkin, and add about 3 tablespoons of the butter. Place into the oven and bake until soft and caramelised, about 30 minutes. If the pumpkin is looking a bit dry, add more butter and if it isn’t caramelising and turning golden brown and sweet, sprinkle more sugar. Remove from the oven and set to one side to cool.
2. For the crumble topping: lower the oven to 160 Celsius. Process the butter, sugar and flour until it forms the texture of breadcrumbs. Leave a few larger lumps of butter and don’t worry about getting it all uniform. If you don’t have a processor use your finger tips to rub it all together. Stir in some porridge or muesli oats. Lay on a baking tray on baking paper and put in the oven, stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes, until the crumble is golden. Set to one side and cool.
3. For the pastry: in a food processor (or in a large bowl using a whisk or fork) cream the butter, sugar and salt together until it is pale, fluffy and creamy, about 4 minutes. Don’t skimp on this stage. Add the flour and process into rough breadcrumbs. Add the egg and egg yolk and process to form a soft dough. If it is too wet add some more flour. Form into a lump with your hands, place on a floured surface and lightly press into a rectangle. Wrap in cling film and put into the fridge for 3o minutes to cool.
4. Remove from the fridge, place on a floured surface and roll out to about 3mm thick. Take a 20 inch (ish) metal pastry fluted tart tin with a removable bottom, buttered and dusted with flour. Lay the pastry into it, patching any holes that might form with spare pastry. Push the pastry into all the corners and drape the pastry over the edges. Refrigerate for about 20 minutes. Place baking paper on top and fill with baking beans, or dry lentils/rice (something that won’t burn in the oven). Place into the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes until the pastry is starting to turn a light golden. Then remove the beans and paper and return to the oven for a further 5 to brown the bottom of the pastry and to avoid the dreaded soggy bottom! This process is known as blind baking – you do it so that the pastry is already cooked with the filling goes in and so ends up crisp, cooked all through and not at all soggy!
5. To make the frangipane: blend/mix all of the frangipane ingredients into a smooth paste.
6. To make the raspberry coulis: blend raspberries and the lemon juice until smooth. Pass through a sieve to remove the pips and refrigerate until needed.
7. Spread the frangipane into the tart. Take the caramelised pumpkin and press it into the frangipane. Then press in whole raspberries. Take the filled tart and place into the oven. Bake for 30 minutes or until the frangipane is lightly browned and cooked just through, but is still a little wobbly. If the pastry starts to get too dark, cover with tin foil. Remove from the heat and brush with honey.
8. Use a knife to trim the overhanging pastry edges off and neaten the edges. Spoon a few drizzles of the raspberry coulis on the top of the tart and scatter the crumble.
pastry in
blind baked
frangipane in
poke it in
raspberry coulis
fresh from the oven
slice me
