Walnut Chocolate Pumpkin Tart – healthy, so delicious, vegetarian

Walnut Chocolate Pumpkin Tart … a tart full of memories! If you’ve been following my blog, it’s no secret that I absolutely adore including walnuts as an ingredient in my baking. Often ‘the more, the merrier’ is norm and an overdose of this delicious nut is most welcome. So when the California Walnut Board invited me to San Francisco, I was thrilled to be part of the special media group for the 2018 Harvest Tour.

It was a superbly managed tour, not easy given that we were a diverse group of 8, mostly media and a couple of bloggers. We were also joined with groups from the UK, Turkey & China and the tour was an absolute blast! {Catch the tour highlights on my Instagram feed}.

Walnuts made up every part of course with visits to the walnut orchards, then to the inshell processing plants and processing & packaging facilities. There were absolutely delicious walnut inspired meals {read breakfast/lunch/dinner & snacks too}, and then plenty of wine tasting with Lodi Wines.

I’ve been fascinated by the dry fruit for long but have never had the opportunity to see how it’s been grown, harvested, cleaned, shelled etc. To be able to witness my first walnut orchard was the most exhilarating  experience ever. Rows upon rows of trees laden with walnuts ready to be picked, some walnuts still in their green husks.

The experience of seeing shakers being driven by precisely latching on to trees and giving them a professional shake…then showers, literally showers of walnuts. The whole ground strewn with walnuts was a little surreal. That we stepped on a few, the crunch piercing our hearts with pain, was again a very unreal experience.

Post that, the sweepers came in, low vehicles driven by old farm hands, trained to do the job to perfection first using blowers to sweep the path clean, then collecting the walnuts off the ground very expertly. All the processes are mechanised and so efficient. We also visited the in shell facilities where the walnuts are checked, washed, cleaned of debris, graded, sized and finally packed off either to distributors, else to the shelling plant. Carton upon carton of freshly harvested clean walnuts, rows upon rows of men & women at work painstakingly getting us the best California walnuts from farm to table is something to be grateful for.

Our visit also included several meals hosted by the California Walnut Board in Lodi accompanied by really nice wine from the wine growers of Lodi. The entire experience tied in so well, leaving me with so many memories. Also inspiring me to get back home and begin working with walnuts in the kitchen the minute I got back. I spend my days thinking of how much you can do with this much-loved dry fruit. There was no stopping me, and soon I baked up this beautiful Walnut Chocolate Pumpkin Tart.

I love working with ingredients that are both healthy and delicious and walnuts are one of them. I’ve been using them for years and years. This last batch from the walnut board were possibly the freshest I’ve ever used. Comparing them to earlier ones I’ve used, these were sweeter, the flesh lighter and more tender. The tannins weren’t overpowering and the quality outstanding. I’ve bought so many in the past, and now can see what was wrong.

Walnuts are most delicious if stored well and eating fresh. Handfuls will disappear if the quality is good. Most issues come up due to incorrect storing, whether it’s been from retail of stored incorrectly at home. Best stored in the freezer {or even the fridge}, you can keep small serving portions out at a cool room temperature. If they’ve not been cleaned & dried properly, storing in sealed bags at room temperature will definitely get mold. Vacuum sealed bags of walnuts are a safer buy.

Walnuts are a powerhouse of good nutrition. A handful or two of walnuts everyday will get you a daily helping of protein, fibre, magnesium and phosphorous. They also contain the highest amount of the plant-based omega-3 alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), and are a great source of good fat! In a nutshell, walnuts full of antioxidants, low in saturated fats and rich in nutrients are an excellent dietary include. Enjoy them either raw or cooked/baked as they are winners all the way.

I use them so often in baking. I recently made this Walnut Chocolate Pumpkin Tart using walnuts in the base and chocolate, walnut butter and fresh pumpkin puree in the filling. Other than it tasting drop dead delicious, this tart is simple. It’s also whole grain, eggless and uses no refined sugar. What’s not to love about desserts like these?

It’s #wholegrain & #eggless, and can go vegan with a few changes. I also used some finger licking good walnut butter in this, jars of which we carried back home. It’s the best thing in the world. You must make some!

More recipes with WALNUTS here!

Walnut Chocolate Pumpkin Tart

Walnut Chocolate Pumpkin Tart is wholegrain & eggless, and full of delicious healthy walnuts. It can go vegan with a few changes. I also used some finger licking good walnut butter in this, jars of which we carried back home. It’s the best thing in the world. You must make some!

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 2 hours hrs 40 minutes mins

Servings 6 people

Ingredients

  

Walnut Tart Biscuit Base

• 50 g toasted walnuts
• 50 g digestive biscuits
• 50 g ghee {or melted butter}

Chocolate Pumpkin filling

• 200 g 72% dark couverture chocolate chopped
• 50 g single cream warmed but not boiling
• 100 g fresh pumpkin puree {Made from roasting approximately 200g pumpkin}
• Zest of 1 orange
• 25 ml maple syrup {or honey}
• 15 g walnut butter {or ghee}
• 5 g pie spice {or cinnamon powder/garam masala}

Instructions

 

Walnut Tart Biscuit Base

• Chop walnuts in a processor jar {I used a hand chopper}, then add the digestive biscuits and process again until finely chopped.
• Stir in the melted ghee.
• Turn into a 7″ loose bottomed tart tin, pressing the sides into place, and then the base.
• Chill for 10 minutes in the freezer while the oven preheats.
• Preheat the oven to 180C.
• Bake the base for 10 minutes. In the meantime prepare the filling.

Chocolate Pumpkin filling

• Heat the chocolate in a large heatproof bowl for 1 minute in the microwave.
• Pour over the cream and leave for 5 minutes. Whisk to mix, then whisk in all remaining ingredients.
• Pour over baked walnut biscuit tart shell, and level out with an offset spatula.
• Bake at 180 C for 20 minutes, then leave to cool in oven.
• Chill for a couple of hours. Grate over with dark chocolate, and top with walnut halves.
• Slice and serve.

Keyword baking, chocolate, dessert, eggless, glutenfree, homemade, no bake, sweet