By: A Common Connoisseur
dessert, recipe, ,

spiced carrot tart


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It was not my intention to create a tart that resembled pumpkin pie. I mean come on, it’s January for goodness sake.

It has been one of those weekends where I had an itch to bake, but did not want to go shopping for ingredients. You’ve been there too, I’m sure of it. Call me the lazy baker.

Typically my goal is to bake yummy treats with a twist. Since we have been eating vegan/vegetarian for the last 3 weeks, we have an absorbent amount of carrots, celery, cauliflower, tomatoes and onions at our house.

Given that carrots are naturally sweet, and I love my rectangular tart tin, I decided to make a carrot tart. What I did not realize is that this tart would be incredibly delicious and in fact taste very similar to pumpkin pie.

Serve this little treat with coffee and fresh whipped cream for your next gathering. They won’t even know they are eating a serving of carrots {mwahaha}.

spiced carrot tart

  • Servings: 6-8
  • Difficulty: medium
  • Print

A vibrant tart with a unique twist.

I suggest making this tart a day ahead. You will need extra time for cooling the dough and letting the tart set for several hours in the refrigerator. 

Ingredients

tart dough

  • 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced into 1/2-inch cubes
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 tablespoon heavy cream
  • 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

Use rectangular or circular tart pan with this recipe.

filling

  • 5-6 medium carrots, peeled and coined
  • 1 tsp all-spice
  • 1 tsp whole cloves
  • 2 tsp cinnamon {divided}
  • 1.3 c. brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1 + 2/3 c. heavy whipping cream
  • 2 eggs + 1 egg yolk
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg
  • pinch of salt

Directions

  1. Tart Crust: Combine confectioners’ sugar, salt, and butter in bowl of a food processor or Kitchen Aid blender. Pulse or blend several times until the mixture resembles small pebbles. Add the egg, vanilla and heavy cream and pulse/blend again. Add flour and pulse/blend dough comes together.
  2. Place dough onto lightly floured work surface. With your hands, form dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill in refrigerator for 1 hour.
  3. Preheat oven to 325.
  4. Dough: Roll out chilled dough onto floured surface. Make the shape of your tart pan {rectangle or circle}. Place dough into greased tart pan. Press dough up the sides until the whole pan is covered. Trim off edges and save. Prick the shell with a fork and freeze for at least 15 minutes.
  5. Bake crust for 15-20 minutes. Set aside when done.
  6. Optional: Shape extra trimmed crust into small hearts or any other design. Line baking pan with parchment paper, place crust design on pan and brush with whisked egg. Bake for 5-10 minutes, until golden brown. Set aside.
  7. In small pot, boil carrots in water with all-spice, cloves and 1 tsp cinnamon for 20 minutes.
  8. Drain carrots and discard whole cloves and all-spice.
  9. In medium bowl, use an immersion blender to puree carrots and heavy whipping cream. Once smooth, add brown sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, eggs and salt. Blend until smooth.
  10. Pour batter into baked crust and bake for 35-40 minutes.
  11. Remove from oven and cool for 30 minutes. Then place in refrigerator to chill and set for at least 2 hours or overnight.
  12. Decorate with pastry designs before serving. Serve with fresh whipped heavy cream.

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