Ingredients for "Pumpkin" Fililng
- 1 lb butternut squash (peeled and cubed)
- 1 lb kabocha squash (peeled and cubed)
- 1 c heavy cream
- ½ c wildflower honey
- ½ can sweetened condensed milk (7 ounces)
- 1 Tbsp kosher salt
- 1 vanilla bean
- 8 EGG YOLKS (SET ASIDE!!)
Ingredients for Graham Dough
- 2.5 C plus 2 T Pastry Flour
- 1 c Brown Sugar
- 1 t Baking Soda
- ¾ t Kosher Salt
- 3.5 ounces Unsalted Butter, chilled and cubed
- 5T Whole Milk
- 1/3 c Honey
- 2T Vanilla Extract
Ingredients for Marshmallow
- 2 cups sugar
- cup water
- 4 egg whites
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt.
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract.
Directions for Filling
1. Toss all ingredients together in a roasting pan. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 28 minutes. Check for tenderness. Continue cooking until the squashes are soft and easily pierced with a fork.
2. Remove vanilla beans. Pour all contents of the roasting pan into a food processor and puree until smooth. Strain through a fine meshed strainer.
3. ADD: 8 egg yolks to the mixture. Whisk until incorporated. Set aside.
Directions for Dough
1. In a food processor, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking soda and salt. Pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse on and off until the mixture is the consistency of a coarse meal.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together honey, milk and vanilla. Add to the flour mixture in the food processor and pulse on and off until the dough comes together. It will be very soft and sticky.
3. Refrigerate overnight. Place in the freezer for 1 hour right before you are ready to roll it out.
4. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
5. To roll out the dough, roll between two sheets of parchment paper with a good amount of flour in between the dough and each sheet to prevent the dough from sticking to the paper. Work with the dough only while it is very, very cold. As you roll out the dough, you may need to peel the parchment paper off periodically and add more flour. Try not to crimp the paper as you work.
6. Roll until dough is 1/16” thick. With a pastry brush, brush off any excess flour. Remove top sheet of parchment paper. Place the dough with parchment paper underneath on a cookie sheet.
7. Bake the dough for 15 minutes. Rotate the tray half way and bake another 15 minutes. Continue baking until the dough is a dark, burnished brown and is dry to the touch. It will be nearly impossible for you to make crumbs out of under baked graham dough, so don’t be afraid to get color on this.
8. Allow the dough to cool completely before proceeding.
Prepare the crust
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees
2. Combine 2 ½ cups of graham cracker crumbs with 2 T granulated sugar and 4 or 5 tablespoons melted butter. Add enough butter so the crumbs form a tight clump in the palm of your hand if you press them together.
3. Spread the crumbs along the bottom of the tart pan and up the sides to form a ½ “ thick border. Press them in neatly and tightly, using a measuring cup to help form and even, smooth bottom and smooth sides.
4. Bake the crust at 325 degrees for 5 minutes to set it. Allow to cool completely before proceeding.
5. Add the filling to the crust and bake at 325 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes, rotating the pan half way through baking. Bake until the center of the tart is just barely set, maybe a teensie bit wiggly. If you over bake , the tart will crack.
6. While the tart is cooling, prepare the marshmallow. Allow the tart to cool completely before adding the marshmallow topping!!!!!
Directions for Marshmallow
1. In a heavy bottomed sauce pan, combine the sugar and water. Clean the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush to make sure no stray sugar granules remain. This is crucial!!! One stray sugar granule can cause your entire pan of sugar to crystallize during the heating process.
2. Allow the sugar to come to a boil and continue cooking until the temperature reaches 230 degrees Fahrenheit.
3. While the sugar is cooking, begin whisking your egg whites. Whisk on high speed in a stand mixer fixed with a whisk attachment. When the egg whites begin to foam, stop the mixer and add the cream of tartar and salt.
4. Whip the egg whites on high speed until they reach soft peak consistency.
5. Immediately, drizzle in the hot sugar syrup. Do so slowly and carefully. It is extremely hot.
6. Continue whisking on high until the egg whites have reached full volume and the meringue is glossy and shiny and smooth. Mix in the vanilla extract.
7. While the meringue is still warm, spoon it over the FULLY COOLED tart. With the back of a spoon, make soft, undulating waves of marshmallow all over the top of the tart. Then, with a kitchen torch, “toast” the “marshmallow” gently.
8. Serve within 4 hours of finishing. The meringue does not do well in the refrigerator. If you need to keep the tart for longer, keep it at room temperature, uncovered.