Pumpkin and walnut cream cheese tart

Ingredients

For the tart crust

• 150g plain flour
• 50g California walnuts, finely chopped
• 35g icing sugar
• 80g salted butter, softened (plus extra for greasing the tin)
• 1 large egg

For the filling

• 425g canned pumpkin
• 115g low-fat cream cheese, softened
• 100g light brown sugar
• 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 75g California walnuts, coarsely chopped

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Lightly grease a 9-inch round tin with a loose base with butter.

2. In a large bowl, beat together the flour, California walnuts and icing sugar. Stir in the butter and the egg and mix well until the mixture becomes a soft dough. Gather the dough into a ball, wrap tightly in cling film and leave in the fridge for at least an hour (or until the dough is easy to handle.)

3. Place the pastry dough onto a lightly floured board and roll out into an 11-inch circle. Press onto the bottom and sides of the tin and poke the pastry with a fork. Bake for 20 minutes.

4. While the crust is baking, whisk together the pumpkin and cream cheese in a bowl until smooth. Add the light brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla extract, the egg and the egg yolk, and beat until just combined.

5. Pour the mixture into the baked crust and top with California walnuts. Bake for 40 minutes or until the filling is set when the tin is gently tapped.

6. Remove from the oven and let cool. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

7. When ready to serve, top each slice with a dollop of whipped cream.

Our thanks to California Walnuts for providing this recipe

Visit our autumn recipe section for more delicious recipes for pumpkins, squash, apples, pears and more