This red kuri tart with walnut crust makes a delightful winter treat with its nutty crust and velvety filling.
Winter is not my favorite season for produce but there are a few things that carry me through like winter squashes, sweet potatoes, and citrus. I love cooking and baking with red kuri, a Japanese winter squash. Red kuri is notable for its bright, red-orange skin and a sweet, and nutty flesh. I tried growing them from seeds but haven’t had much luck. I’ve roasted them for salads, soups, and curries but my favorite is a red kuri tart with walnut crust. Reminiscent of a pumpkin pie, my red kuri tart has a nutty, crumbly crust and a velvety filling spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. The mascarpone adds a creamy texture while the honey creates a molasses-like undertone. It makes for a fuss free, delightful winter treat.
Tip for Making the Crust
- To get a flaky crust, keep your equipment and butter as cold as possible so the butter does not melt and becomes overworked. Handle the butter as little as possible with your hands to avoid melting it with your temperature.
- Slowly add in ice water, a tablespoon at a time. When mixing the wet ingredients into the dry, stop once it sticks together to form the cohesive dough. Use the least amount of water possible to avoid a soggy dough or creating too much gluten.
- Pat the dough into a disk, wrap it in plastic, and chill it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before rolling out the dough. Letting it rest in the fridge allows the gluten to relax.
- Gently roll the dough between two sheets of parchment paper to keep from sticking. Carefully transfer dough to your tart pan and trim the edges with a knife.
- Freeze the dough after being placed in the tart pan for another 30 minutes to make sure the butter stays solid and doesn’t melt into the flour. The oven's heat will cause the tart layers to puff and resulting in a flakier crust.
- Well-wrapped dough can be stored in the fridge for up to about 3 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.
How to Make the Filling
The filling for the red kuri tart is quite simple with a classic blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Roast the red kuri squash in the oven and scoop out the flesh. Blend the squash, spices, mascarpone, eggs, and honey in a food processor until smooth.
Tips for Baking the Crust
For this red kuri tart, blind-baking is required. Blind-baking is the process of baking a tart shell before it’s filled. It’s a two step process that requires the crust to be filled with pie weights for the first bake. The pie weights help the crust keep its shape instead of slumping into a gloppy mess. If you don’t own pie weights, you can also use dried beans or rice.
On the second round, the pie weights are removed and crust baked until golden brown. You’re aiming for the color of golden brown to get the best texture and flavor. When in doubt, it’s better to slightly over-bake than under-bake. No one likes a soggy crust. The baked crust will keep at room temperature, tightly wrapped, for up to 2 days.
How Long to Bake the Tart
Once the shell is done baking, pour the squash filling directly into the tart and bake if for 45-50 minutes at 350 degrees F until the edges are set but middle slightly jiggly.
What to Serve Tart With
For the red kuri tart, I like to serve it with whipped cream. If you want something tangy for a contrast, creme fraiche also works.
Make Ahead and Storage
With this recipe, you can make both the filling and the crust two days ahead of serving. Refrigerate any leftovers in a tight lidded container for up to five days.
Red Kuri Tart With Walnut Crust
Ingredients
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- ½ cup ground walnuts
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cubed
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons icing sugar
- 2 tablespoons low fat cream cheese
- 3-4 tablespoons iced water
Filling
- 1.5-2 pounds organic red kuri squash, reserve 1 ½ cups of flesh for the filling
- 4 ounces mascarpone cheese
- 2 large eggs
- 6 tablespoons honey
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For serving
- ½ cup organic heavy whipping cream
- 1 tablespoon icing sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven 375 degrees F.
- Cut the red kuri squash in half, scoop out all the seeds, and place them face down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Roast the squash for 45 minutes until the inside is tender.
- Let it cool to room temperature, discard any stringy parts, then use a spoon to scoop out the flesh. Scoop out 1.5 cups of squash flesh for the filling. Save the extra flesh for soup or freeze it for another pie.
- While the squash is baking, prepare the crust. In a food processor, add flour, walnut, butter, cream cheese, sugar, and salt and process until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
- While the food processor is running, add water and pulse until the dough comes together.
- Transfer the dough to a floured surface and form the dough into a disk. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Roll the dough in between two sheets of parchment papers until you get about 11 inch diameter and ⅛ inch thickness.
- Lay the dough in the tart pan and press it firmly against the sides and bottom without stretching it.
- Roll rolling pin across the tart to trim the dough. You can also do this with a knife. Prick the bottom with a fork. Cover and freeze the dough in the pan for at least 30 minutes.
- To prepare the filling, in a food processor, combine 1 ½ cups of squash, mascarpone, eggs, honey, vanilla, and spices and process until smooth. Pour the filling into a large bowl and set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line pastry crust with parchment paper and fill with baking weights (or uncooked rice or dried beans). Bake for 15 minutes.
- Remove the rice or beans and paper and bake for another 10 minutes until golden.
- Pour filling directly into the baked tart shell. Smooth the filling with an offset spatula and bake for 45-50 minutes until the edges are set and center slightly jiggly.
- Remove the tart from the oven and let it cool to room temperature.
- When ready to serve, whisk the heavy cream and icing sugar together until soft peaks form. Serve tart slices with a dollop of whipped cream.
Bob Atkinson
If I made this as a pie, how would I alter it?
Vy Tran
Hi Bob! I had a reader mentioned that somehow her filling didn't set. I'm a bit hesitant to tell you how to change the recipe to a full size pie without testing it. When do you need the recipe by? If you don't mind, I can redo it as a regular pie and email you the recipe.
Bob
Thank you, I have just harvested 8 Kuris and they are curing now. I would like to make the pie for Thanksgiving. Looking forward to your reply
Vy Tran
Thank you in advance for your patience! I forgot to ask if you wanted a pie version or a tart version. The crust will be slightly different depending on what you're looking for.
Shala Perla
I would also like a full pie recipe please. I would love to make this for Thanksgiving. Thank you!
Vy Tran
Hi Shala! I will test it for the pie version this weekend and email you early next week. Thank you in advance for your patience!
Evelyn
Would love to have the full size pie recipe as well 🙂
Vy Tran
Hi Evelyn! I will email you soon!
Hannah
If you have the full pie recipe I would love it as well! Thank you!!
Vy Tran
Hi Hannah! I've just sent it to you. Hope you like it!
Bob
The pie was wonderful. My family loved it. I used gluten free flour as my daughter has Celiac disease.
It was so good she said I had to grow more Kuri Squash next year. I made another for Christmas. Thank you so much.
Vy Tran
You're welcome! I'm so happy to hear your family enjoyed it! Happy holidays Bob!
camran ahmed
Hiya Vy! I would like the full pie recipe too if that's okay? I think its more practicle for me to do that for me and my family. Thanks from the UK.
Vy Tran
Hi Camran! I'll send you the pie recipe. Hope you'll like it!
Kira
Hello Vy, I was thinking of using your crust recipe as a tart base! Do you think it will hold overnight if filled with custard ?
Vy Tran
Hi Kira! It should but I'll send you a separate email for the tart base.
Vivian Jojola
I would also love to have the full pie recipe. This looks delicious!
Thanks!
Vy Tran
Hi Vivian! I've just emailed it to you. Hope you'll like it!
Joanne
I was hoping to make a full pie too. I hope it’s not too late to get the recipe for that. I have a stew bought gluten free crust I will be using.
Vy Tran
Hi Joanne! I'll email you the recipe.
Lisa
Hi Vy,
I would love to have the either the full tart or the pie version of this recipe -- whichever you felt was the more successful adaptation from your original. The individual tarts are beautiful! Sadly, I'm much more likely to use the larger recipe.
Cheers,
Lisa
Vy Tran
hi Lisa! I'll email it to you.
Joyce
Please send the recipe for a full pie. I can’t wait to make this.
Vy Tran
Hi Joyce! I'll email it to you!
Cecilia
Hello, I would like the full pie recipe too. Thanks!
Vy Tran
Hi Cecilia! I'll send you the recipe.
Ella
Loved how this turned out. It was gone in a day!