Hey guys! Halloween is around the corner, so let’s make a realistic pumpkin spice tart also known as a tromp-l’œil pastry! It’s a roasted pumpkin cremeux with toasted seeds, winter spice cake and sable and a lovely pumpkin mousse. So lets begin!
Winter spice powder
Ingredients
- 5 g star anise
- 5 g long pepper
- 1 g black pepper
- 2 g juniper berries
- 4 g cardamom pods
- 7 g cinnamon
- 3 g dried empty vanilla pod
Instructions
- Mix the star anise with the long pepper, the black pepper, the juniper berry, the cardamom pods, the cinnamon and the dried empty vanilla pod.
- Toast this on a medium high heat for 3 to 4 minutes. This will give the spices a wonderful warm and rich flavour.
- Then transfer it into a blender and blend it into a fine powder. Keep it dry and covered for later.
Pumpkin spice cake
Ingredients
- 100 g pumpkin seeds
- 250 g butter
- 5 g winter spice powder we just made
- 200 g egg
- 220 g cane sugar
- 4 g salt
- 1 lemon for zest
- 150 g flour
Instructions
- Transfer the pumpkin seeds in a blender and blend it into a fine powder.
- After that start heating the butter. Heat it up to caramelize it into a lovely beurre noisette. Stir it every now and then to prevent it from burning.
- Once it’s golden brown turn off the heat and add 5 grams of the spice powder we just made. Mix it well and set it aside for later.
- Now mix the egg with the cane sugar, the salt and the zest from the lemon. Start beating it till stiff fluffy peaks have formed. This takes a couple of minutes.
- After that add the pumpkin seed powder together with the flour. Fold all the ingredients together and once it’s almost incorporated also add the flavoured beurre noisette we just made.
- Now spread it on a silicon sheet. I use a layer frame to insure an even thickness. Then remove the frame and bake the cake at 190 °C (374 °F) for about 15 minutes. If needed turn the tray in between.
- Now let it cool down for a couple of minutes before you can portioning it to the desired size. I do this with a round cutter, but any shape you like is fine. Keep them covered in your fridge for later.
The roasted pumpkin
Ingredients
- 1 pumpkin organic & edible
- winter spice powder we just made
Instructions
- Begin by cutting a pumpkin in half. Do be sure to use an edible organic one and not one that’s grown just for decoration. Now remove the seeds. You can keep them and after cleaning roast them, very good!
- When the pumpkin is empty sprinkle some of the spice powder on the inside and be sure to be generous. Place it upside down on a tray and bake it at 180 °C (356 °F) for about 45 to 50 minutes. It needs to be soft and have a nice brown colour on the outside.
- Once cooked let it cool down for a couple of minutes before you can remove the outside peel. Then divide the cooked pumpkin in two batches. The first batch you can cool down in your fridge.
- When it has cooled down press it through a wire rack. You could also chop it with a knife, but this insures an evener end result. I always do the same with avocado for a guacamole. Keep it covered in your fridge for later.
- The second batch of pumpkin you need to transfer in a blender and blend it till smooth. Keep the puree in your fridge for the other recipes for this pastry.
Pumpkin cremeux
Ingredients
- 300 g pumpkin puree we just made
- 225 g cream 35% fat
- 20 g corn starch
- 2 g salt
- 90 g egg yolk
- 200 g white chocolate 28%
Instructions
- Mix the pumpkin puree with the cream, the corn starch, the salt and the egg yolk. Mix it well and then while stiring heat it up to thicken the cremeux.
- When you’re happy with the thickness add the white chocolate and blend it till smooth. Then pour it into a bowl, cover it and let it set in your fridge.
- Once set I filled a piping bag and used it to fill a small donut mold. You could also do it without the mold, but this just ensure a better end result. Level it with a pallet knife and then press the pumpkin spice cake from before on top. Freeze this till solid.
Caramelized pumpkin seeds
Ingredients
- 100 g water
- 100 g sugar
- 100 g pumpkin seeds
- winter spice powder
- salt & citric acid
Instructions
- Mix the water with the sugar and bring this to a boil. Then add the pumpkin seeds and let it simmer for a couple of minutes.
- Now drain the pumpkin seeds and spread them on a metal tray. Let it airdry for 30 minutes.
- After that heat up some frying oil till the temperature is 160 °C (320 °F) and deep fry the pumpkin seeds. Add all the seeds at once and just keep on stirring till your happy with the colour. Do be sure you take them out when they have a light golden colour. If they burn the flavour gets super bitter.
- Now spread them on a tray and directly season them with some of the spice powder, salt and just a touch of citric acid. Mix it well and let it cool down for a couple of minutes.
- Then place the seeds on a kitchen paper to remove any excess oil. If you directly do this the seeds will stick to the paper because the sugar is still soft and hot.
- Now take the cremeux out of the freezer and remove them from the mold. Fill the inside and top with some of the roasted pumpkin and also sprinkle a couple caramelized pumpkin seeds on there. Using a metal cutter for this will help a lot. Place them in your freezer for at least 1 hours.
Pumpkin mousse
Ingredients
- 3.3 g gelatin 2 leaves
- 150 g pumpkin puree we just made
- 30 g cane sugar
- 1 g salt
- 250 g cream 35% fat
Instructions
- First soak the gelatine in cold water.
- Then mix the pumpkin puree with the sugar and a gram of salt. Heat this up till it starts to steam. Once that’s the case turn off the heat and dissolve the gelatine. Set this aside for later.
- Meanwhile pour the cream in a bowl and start beating it. The cream needs to have a thin yoghurt consistency.
- Before you can mix the components together be sure the pumpkin has a temperature between 30 °C (86 °F) and 35 °C (95 °F). If it’s too hot the mousse will split.
- Add a third of the cream to the pumpkin and mix it together. Now pour it into the bowl and fold it to create a lovely mousse.
- Then use the mousse to fill some pumpkin molds. This is the mold I used. Make sure all sides are covered and then press the frozen interior in there. If needed add some more mousse and level it with a pallet knife. Freeze this till solid as well.
Winter spice sable
Ingredients
- 165 g flour
- 20 g pumpkin seed powder
- 60 g icing sugar
- 3 g winter spice powder we just made
- 2 g salt
- 100 g butter
- 30 g beaten egg
Instructions
- Transfer the flour on your worktop and make a well in the middle. Fill the well with the pumpkin seed powder, the icing sugar, the winter spice powder, the salt, the butter and the beaten egg.
- Bring all the ingredients together and knead it till it’s a nice dough. Once it’s an even dough directly stop kneading to prevent too much gluten from forming. Then cover it and let it rest in your fridge for at least 1 hour.
- To roll the dough I also used a layer frame and rolled it on a silicon sheet. This way you can easily move the dough without breaking it if it gets to warm. Just roll it out with some flour so it doesn’t stick. Then remove the layer frame and let the dough set in your fridge for 30 minutes.
- Once it has set cut the dough with the desired cutter and place it on a perforated silicon sheet. You need to bake the dough as cold as possible to get the best shape.
- Then cover it with another perforated sheet and bake it at 150 °C (302 °F) for around 20 minutes. Once nice and golden let it cool down and keep it dry and covered for later.
Orange chocolate glaze
Ingredients
- 150 g cacao butter
- 150 g white chocolate 28%
- orange fat soluble coloring powder
Instructions
- First melt the cacao butter on a low heat.
- Meanwhile mix the white chocolate and a touch of the orange fat soluble coloring powder. Then pour the hot melted cacao butter on top and blend it till smooth.
- After that remove the frozen mousse from the molds and press a metal needle or thin knife in the mousse. Then directly submerge it in the warm orange glaze and let any excess glaze drip off. You want that layer to be as thin as possible.
- You could serve it like this, but I also brushed the outside with a yellow glaze. This gives it a more realistic look. Now place the pumpkin on the sable and let it defrost.
Pumpkin seed ganache
Ingredients
- 1.6 g gelatin 1 leaf
- 100 g cream 35% fat
- 50 g pumpkin seed powder
- 100 g white chocolate 28%
- 1 g salt
- cacao powder
Instructions
- First soak the gelatin in cold water.
- Now mix the cream with the salt and bring it to a boil. Then turn off the heat and dissolve the gelatin.
- Then mix the white chocolate with the pumpkin seed powder and pour the hot cream on the chocolate and blend it till smooth.
- Use this ganache to fill your desired mold and freeze this till solid.
- When it's frozen remove it from the mold and dust a very thin layer of cacao powder on top.
- Then place the ganache stem on top of the pumpkin and it's ready to be served.
