Two Autumn Tarts
Sweet Potato Tart with cornmeal crust
Maple Pecan Tart with gingersnap crust
Today, an embarrassment of riches!
Between house parties and a special local farm dinner, I’ve been busy-busy cooking this month. In the process, I’ve created a couple of lush desserts suited for fall.
It’s a beautiful day in Nashville, the essence of early autumn: sunny, neither warm nor cool, with that slant of light that makes all things clear.
Ripe for sharing both recipes.
The first, sweet potato pie with cornmeal crust, was one that I made for the local farm dinner, hosted by Fretboard Journal, a guitar-afficianado’s dream-magazine based out of Seattle Washington. With all the “box” pickers, builders, traders, and listeners, Nashville is one guitar lovin’ town, the perfect site for the Inaugural Fretboard Feast.
My friend, organic farmer Tally May, and her husband, guitar builder extraordinaire, Kipp Krusa hosted the event on their Turnbull Creek Farm, just west of Nashville.
Working with Tally, I designed a menu, basing it on what was seasonal and available at the moment. We sourced meat, eggs, fruit, and vegetables from her farm, and her neighboring farmer-colleagues.
Here are some of the highlights: Rosemary-Sage Roasted Fresh Ham with Fig Sauce, Fall Lettuces with beets, pears, walnuts, chevre, Sherry-Plum Vinaigrette, Butternut Squash-Swiss Chard Gratin, October Beans, Pole Beans, and Leeks with blistered cherry tomatoes and peppers, Yukon Golds and Harukei Turnips roasted with Thyme and Garlic…
And, this very local pie, distinctively Southern with its slightly gritty cornmeal crust. A drizzle of sorghum, a dollop of lemon-basil scented creme fraiche, and Mer-cy, was it ever down-home elegant good. Have a bite, please!
SWEET POTATO PIE WITH CORNMEAL CRUST
The Crust
3/4 cup Yellow Corn Meal
3/4 cup All Purpose Flour
2 T. Sugar
1/2 t. Salt
7 T. cold Butter, cut into pieces
3-4 T. Ice Water
Place all dry ingredients in a food processor fitted with a pastry cutter blade (or swivel blade). Pulse quickly to “sift” them together. Add cold butter, and pulse until the pieces are cut throughout the cornmeal-flour mix. Continue pulsing, add water, one tablespoon at a time. The dough will begin to amass. Continue pulsing until it forms a ball. Collect, pat into a firmer ball, cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. (You can do this well ahead of time–a day in advance.)
The Filling
2 cups cooked Sweet Potatoes (2 medium or 1 large Sweet Potato, baked, meaty insides scooped from the sweet potato shell))
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1 cup Cream
1 T. Vanilla
1 t. Ginger
1/2 t. Cinnamon
1/2 t. Nutmeg
pinch ground Cloves
3 Eggs
I used the food processor (swivel blade) for the filling too.
Place sweet potatoes into the food processor and process until smooth. Add brown sugar, cream, vanilla, and spices. Continue processing. Taste, and adjust for seasoning. Add eggs, one at a time, and process until very smooth and well-incorporated.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove doughball from refrigerator and allow to soften. Sprinkle counter with a little flour and roll out crust. Fit into a 9″ or 10″ pie pan. If the dough breaks or crumbles, (which it might) don’t worry. The cornmeal makes it a bit that way, but is very forgiving as far as piecing the crust back together.
Fill the pie with the sweet potato mixture and bake for about 35 minutes. Test in the center for doneness (whatever you stick in to check will be clean when removed)
Cool. Serve with lemon-scented creme fraiche.
LEMON BASIL SCENTED CREME FRAICHE
1 cup Heavy Cream
1 T. Buttermilk
3 T. Lemon Basil Simple Syrup
1 T. Lemon zest
Mix the cream and buttermilk in a clean glass mixing bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, and let it sit out, in a cool dark place, for 24 hours, to thicken. Stir occasionally. Refrigerate, and allow to culture for 3 days.
Make your simple syrup. (recipe below)
Whip the creme fraiche with lemon zest and simple syrup until fluffy. Serve over pie.
Lemon Basil Simple Syrup
1/2 c. Sugar
1/2 c. Water
1/2 c. Lemon Basil Leaves
Dissolve sugar into water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Plunge in the lemon basil leaves.
Stir well and simmer. Allow to cool. Strain the leaves.
Next up, Maple Pecan.
Southern pecan pie is traditionally made with corn syrup, and I’ve generally made it this way, with delicious results. But, for this tart, I wanted to use maple syrup that I was able to source from a farm in neighboring Kentucky. I had always thought about maple syrup coming from New England and Canada—so it’s nice to know that locals are making it too.
And, a different, “spicier” crust seemed to be in order. For its sweet and heady bite, a crust made from ginger snaps makes a nice shell to hold that pecan studded custard, and is a snap to make.
I’ve used the same recipe, pressed the crust into an 8″X8″ square baking pan, and made Maple Pecan Bars, instead of the round tart. This works, easy-peasy.
I hope you all are enjoying the change of season. Take time outside, have a slice of one of these tarts, sip hot coffee, drink in that rare slant of light.
MAPLE PECAN TART WITH GINGERSNAP CRUST
The Crust:
24 Ginger Snap Cookies (from an Archway Cookie Bag)
3 T. Melted Butter
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Pulse gingersnaps in a food processor into fine crumbs. Place into a mixing bowl, and stir in melted butter. Press mixture onto the bottom and sides of a 9″ pie pan. Bake for 5 minutes.
The Filling:
1 cup Maple Syrup
1/2 cup Sugar
1 stick melted Butter, slightly cooled
1 T. Vanilla
3 Eggs
1/2 t. Salt
2 cups Pecan Halves
Line the bottom of the gingersnap crust with pecans.
Make the filling, using a stand mixer, or a hand-held. Beat maple syrup, sugar, vanilla, and butter together. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until well incorporated. Pour over pecans in the pie pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes.
Serve warm or cold, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. (drizzled with caramel sauce!)
Comment on This Post:
September 29th, 2011 at 1:37 pm
Wow Nancy, you are sure ready for Fall…I’d take one slice of each pie…both look very tempting.
Hope you are having a fantastic week and thank you so much for sharing this two recipes :-)
September 29th, 2011 at 4:57 pm
Just go ahead and hand over the pecan pie and no one will get hurt. Seriously, hand it over! It is my all time favorite thing for the fall- reminds me of my late grandmother who used to make mini pecan pies for us kids! Wonderful, love your recipe
September 29th, 2011 at 5:27 pm
A slice of each, please. Don’t forget the creme fraiche and the ice cream. And I won’t say no to some of the Rosemary-Sage Roasted Fresh Ham with Fig Sauce you mention. Delicious.
September 30th, 2011 at 2:22 am
Oh my goodness I wish I could have a bite, of both. That cornmeal crust looks to die for, lemon basil scented creme fraiche, then a gingersnap base to a pecan pie. Honestly Nancy my keyboard is now suffering from serious drool. Can you please pop some in the post for me?
September 30th, 2011 at 4:51 am
What a fabulous welcome to fall. The delicious farm table dinner and those gorgeous guitars are fabulous on their own; but your desserts just nudge up the wow factor. Nashville looks like a fun place to live. Enjoy.
September 30th, 2011 at 6:21 am
So many good ideas here, Nancy! But I’m going to zone in on that pecan pie. The gingersnap crust got my attention! And love you used maple syrup!
September 30th, 2011 at 7:06 am
If I were to be offered a few hours of extra sleep or a piece of pecan pie without me putting on extra weight…I’d go with the pie hands down. That’s how much I love this dessert…especially without the corn syrup. The added lemon scented creme fraiche would be a welcomed addition…mummm ;o)
Ahh…Autumn is certainly in the air at your lovely kitchen…buon appetito, Nancy ;)
Ciao for now and have a great weekend,
Claudia
September 30th, 2011 at 7:16 am
Gorgeous! We’re not even getting close to fall temps this year but when we do, this sweet potato pie will be a hit.
September 30th, 2011 at 10:16 am
I can almost taste those pecans…off to the grocery!
September 30th, 2011 at 11:23 am
I don’t know which dessert I’d like better!
September 30th, 2011 at 11:31 am
Nance, beautiful pies…this sounds like a dinner I would have loved..sorry I didn’t know about it. But I will look at your pies and dream. They look wonderful.
September 30th, 2011 at 4:31 pm
Just found your blog and am loving what I see so far. This looks fantastic! xx
October 2nd, 2011 at 9:47 am
YES!!!
October 2nd, 2011 at 7:12 pm
Pecan pie has historically been my #1 choice for birthday “cake” for my November birthday. I think I’ve found the perfect one. Also, this year,I am hosting Thanksgiving for my family for the first time ever. I am already working on a menu and will be putting this yummy pecan pie at the top of the list!
October 3rd, 2011 at 10:46 am
Both pies look amazing. I love the idea of using a gingersnap crust for pecan!
October 3rd, 2011 at 4:25 pm
You know Iv never had a pumpkin dessert? Theyre not massive over here but Im curious so I will get to making these :)
October 4th, 2011 at 1:46 pm
Wow Nancy, these tarts look divine!! Especially the one with the pecans. I would love to try it.
For those of us living in Europe, would any kind of ginger-spiced cookie do for the crust? I have no idea what a ginger snap is :)
October 4th, 2011 at 2:05 pm
Magda, Ginger snap cookies are crunchy, spicy cookies—not as complex in spicing as Speculaas—but that is what comes to mind as a close recommendation.
October 4th, 2011 at 9:53 pm
wow two most delicious autumn tarts! Love the syrup recipe too. The crust must be extremely crumbly with cornmeal.
October 5th, 2011 at 4:05 am
Angie-surprisingly, the cornmeal crust bakes up firm and crisp, a little flaky. the butter and flour keep it from being too crumbly.
October 5th, 2011 at 8:08 pm
You are way ahead of me! I have 6 lbs of corn meal from the mill on Cape Cod (my mother in law went and brought me all that!!) So really, I could make oodles of these tarts….maybe not so good for the waste line! Really both recipes make me think Thanksgiving must be a very big deal in your house!
October 12th, 2011 at 7:01 am
I was just having a craving for sweet potato pie after seeing it on a TV show :) Only this one’s better, because it comes with a recipe! haha….it looks really good- I want some right now! The dinner sounds fun :) Did it take long for you to design your menu? The pecan tart looks amazing too- I love that you used maple syrup in it!
October 12th, 2011 at 9:36 am
I’ve put the pie on my list. It’s the cornmeal crust that has me intrigued.
October 13th, 2011 at 10:26 pm
OMG OMG both the tarts are looking sooo tempting! beautifully baked and nicely presented.
November 27th, 2011 at 2:30 pm
Nancy I wish my husband ate sweet potato pie. This looks the best ever. I’ll need to bookmark this one and find some guests to make this for. (next family get together, maybe).
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