I love the holidays, especially Thanksgiving and Christmas. My family reigns from the south, the west, and all throughout Asia. My parents are both retired, and it’s hard to get all of us in one location for very long. Because of this I really, really cherish the holidays to force us to spend time together.
Growing up, we spent most holidays in rural Durant, Oklahoma, the pit of the south, which I do have a lot of fond memories of celebrating, but food-wise, everything is always so very rich, thick, and heavy. We’re talking sweet potatoes and marshmallows, bacon-wrapped green beans, cinnamon rolls all day long, and way too much dressing and gravy. I do love those foods, but by the time dessert rolls around, it seems like everyone is too stuffed to enjoy the sweets. As a notorious not-too-sweet kind of person, I usually just skip the sugar altogether, but this year I’ve been trying to lean into savory-sweet pastry and have landed on (in my opinion) a very nice in-between dessert.
Have you ever heard of the honeypatch squash? It’s a bit of a niche gourd, but I am learning to love embracing it in salads, soups, and in breakfast bakes. Keeping the idea of family in mind, we have the butternut squash, after which we are joined by the honeynut squash. Honeynuts are like the spunky little sister of the butternut, smaller in size and more concentrated in flavor. These were soon followed by the spunkier-spicier-littler honeypatch squash, which I’ve deemed are the perfect ingredient for a well-balanced dessert.
Without being overly sweet, the honeypatch squash tastes similar to pumpkin, but is much creamier. I’ve paired this recipe with a gingersnap crust, because I love the subtle spice that combats the creaminess of the squash in a really beautiful way. Because of the creaminess, I also topped the tart with a meringue which I torched purely for aesthetics, but if you don’t have a torch at home, whipped cream or powdered sugar are suitable replacements, and just the naked tart is awesome on it’s own as well!
The tart crust does take a long time in the refrigerator to set up, but the squash custard really comes together very fast. These lesser-known squashes can be hard to find, but are easily substituted with pumpkin puree.
Honeypatch Squash Tart
Scroll down for a printable version of this recipe
Yields: 9-inch tart, serves 8-10
Prep time: 45 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour, 40 minutes
Inactive time: 6 hours (for chilling)
Total time: 8 hours, 30 minutes
For the Gingersnap Crust:
About 230 grams gingersnap cookies
1/4 cup granulated sugar
5 Tablespoons melted unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Honeypatch Custard:
4-5 Honeypatch squashes or 2 cans pumpkin puree
1/2 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup granulated sugar
Pinch salt
3 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
4 eggs yolks
For the Meringue:
4 egg whites
1 cup granulated sugar
Pinch salt
Prepare the Squash
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Cut the root off the squash and cut them lengthwise, remove the seeds from the squash and place flesh-side down on parchment-lined sheet tray.
3. Bake for about 35 minutes or until the squash are fork-tender.
4. Flip the squash and let them cool. During this time set the oven to 350 and prepare the crust.
5. Once cool, remove the squash from the skin and place in a blender or a food processer.
Prepare the Tart Shell
1. Blend gingersnap cookies in a blender, food processer, or smash in a bag until the cookies are flour-consistency.
2. Put the cookie dust and sugar into a bowl and pour the melted butter to combine. It should look like wet sand.
3. Put this mixture into the tart pan and press the sides and bottom to ensure the crust sticks.
4. Place the entire pan into the fridge and allow to completely cool to make sure the base is solid enough for the custard.
Prepare the Custard Filling
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F and place a rack in the middle of the oven.
2. Wrap the bottom of the tart with one large sheet of aluminum foil. This is to prevent any water from leaking into the tart when it bakes in the water bath.
3, Heat as much hot water as you can in a kettle while prepping the custard.
4. In a medium pot, whisk together the whole milk, heavy cream, 50 grams of the sugar, and a pinch of salt. Place over medium heat until it starts to steam.
5. While the milk is heating, separate the 4 eggs. Place 4 egg yolks in a medium heat safe bowl and pour in the remaining 50 grams of sugar and 3 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice. Whisk until paler in color.
6. Place the bowl with the egg yolk mixture on a damp rag to prevent it from spinning.
7. Once the milk is steaming, remove it from the heat and slowly stream it into the egg yolk mixture while constantly whisking the egg yolks.
8. Continue to pour and whisk until all of the milk has been added in.
9. Then pour the custard mixture back into the pot.
10. Place the pot back on the stove and heat over low heat.
11. Switch to using a rubber spatula to stir the custard in a figure 8 pattern, making sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the pot as you stir.
12. Once the small bubbles on top of the custard start to go away, remove it from the heat immediately.
Pass 250 grams of the honeypatch purée through a sieve into a medium heat safe bowl. Then pour the custard through the sieve into the same bowl and whisk to combine.
13. Once combined, pour the mixture into the par-baked crust and place in the 325 oven for 35 minutes or until the tart filling is thick.
14. Place in the fridge to set up the tart mixture (this step is essential because of the creaminess of the squash). You’ll know when the tart is ready when you can peel off the aluminum foil without tearing the puree mixture.
Prepare the Meringue:
1. Add 2 inches of water to a saucepan (or the bottom of a double boiler) and bring it to a gentle simmer. Once simmering, reduce the heat to low.
2. In a heatproof metal mixing bowl, combine:
-
- 4 large egg whites
- A pinch of salt
- 1 cup granulated sugar
3. Place the bowl over the simmering water, ensuring the bottom doesn’t touch the water. Whisk continuously until the sugar dissolves.
4. Check by rubbing a small amount of the mixture between your fingers—if it feels smooth without any sugar grains, it’s ready.
5. Take the bowl off the heat and let it cool for 5–10 minutes. This slight cooling ensures the meringue whips up without overheating.
6. Use an electric mixer on high speed to whip the mixture until it forms stiff peaks. The texture should be soft, glossy, and marshmallow-like—perfect for piping, spreading, or torching.
If you enjoyed this recipe, you can also try this version with butternut squash from our Founder Shelley Young. We have more festive recipes for you to learn how to make, so please check out some of our holiday themed classes such as:
- Hands-On Things to Bring: Delicious Side Dishes for Holiday Gatherings on Sunday, December 15 at 11am
- Hands-On Holiday Treats on Saturday, December 21 at 10am
- Hands-On Irresistible Appetizers on Saturday, December 21 at 11:30am
- Hands-On Festive Family Baking on Sunday, December 22 at 10am
- Hands-On Fun and Festive Finger Foods on Sunday, December 29 at 10am
Honeypatch Squash Tart
Ingredients
- About 230 grams gingersnap cookies
- 1/4cup granulated sugar
- 5 Tablespoons melted unsalted butter
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4-5 Honeypatch squashes or 2 cans pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- Pinch salt
- 3 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 4 eggs yolks
- 6 egg whites
- 1.5 cup granulated sugar
- Pinch salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Cut the root off the squash and cut them lengthwise, remove the seeds from the squash and place flesh-side down on parchment-lined sheet tray.
- Bake for about 35 minutes or until the squash are fork-tender.
- Flip the squash and let them cool. During this time set the oven to 350 and prepare the crust.
- Once cool, remove the squash from the skin and place in a blender or a food processer.
- Blend gingersnap cookies in a blender, food processer, or smash in a bag until the cookies are flour-consistency.
- Put the cookie dust and sugar into a bowl and pour the melted butter to combine. It should look like wet sand.
- Put this mixture into the tart pan and press the sides and bottom to ensure the crust sticks
- Place the entire pan into the fridge and allow to completely cool to make sure the base is solid enough for the custard.
- Place the tart pan in the 350 oven and par-bake for around 10-15 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F and place a rack in the middle of the oven.
- Wrap the bottom of the tart with one large sheet of aluminum foil. This is to prevent any water from leaking into the tart when it bakes in the water bath.
- Heat as much hot water as you can in a kettle while prepping the custard.
- In a medium pot, whisk together the whole milk, heavy cream, 50 grams of the sugar, and a pinch of salt. Place over medium heat until it starts to steam.
- While the milk is heating, separate the 4 eggs. Place 4 egg yolks in a medium heat safe bowl and pour in the remaining 50 grams of sugar and 3 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice. Whisk until paler in color.
- Place the bowl with the egg yolk mixture on a damp rag to prevent it from spinning.
- Once the milk is steaming, remove it from the heat and slowly stream it into the egg yolk mixture while constantly whisking the egg yolks.
- Continue to pour and whisk until all of the milk has been added in.
- Then pour the custard mixture back into the pot.
- Place the pot back on the stove and heat over low heat.
- Switch to using a rubber spatula to stir the custard in a figure 8 pattern, making sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the pot as you stir.
- Once the small bubbles on top of the custard start to go away, remove it from the heat immediately.
- Pass 250 grams of the honeypatch purée through a sieve into a medium heat safe bowl. Then pour the custard through the sieve into the same bowl and whisk to combine.
- Once combined, pour the mixture into the par-baked crust and place in the 325 oven for 35 minutes or until the tart filling is thick.
- Place in the fridge to set up the tart mixture (this step is essential because of the creaminess of the squash). You’ll know when the tart is ready when you can peel off the aluminum foil without tearing the puree mixture.
- Add 2 inches of water to a saucepan (or the bottom of a double boiler) and bring it to a gentle simmer. Once simmering, reduce the heat to low.
- In a heatproof metal mixing bowl, combine:
- large egg whites
- A pinch of salt
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3. Place the bowl over the simmering water, ensuring the bottom doesn’t touch the water. Whisk continuously until the sugar dissolves.
- 4. Check by rubbing a small amount of the mixture between your fingers—if it feels smooth without any sugar grains, it’s ready.
- 5. Take the bowl off the heat and let it cool for 5–10 minutes. This slight cooling ensures the meringue whips up without overheating.
- 6. Use an electric mixer on high speed to whip the mixture until it forms stiff peaks. The texture should be soft, glossy, and marshmallow-like—perfect for piping, spreading, or torching.
