A step up from the traditional pumpkin pie, this pumpkin ricotta tart deserves a place at your Thanksgiving table. It has a crisp, sweet crust, layers of light and creamy pumpkin ricotta filling and is topped with an olive oil caramel, a handful of cookie crumbs, and whipped crème fraîche.

When it comes to developing recipes for the blog and creating a brand with a clear culinary point of view, I have a very niche perspective. I feel very strongly that home desserts (and honestly, lots of restaurant desserts but that’s a whole other sermon) should be better. As much as I love the classic chocolate chip cookie from the back of the Nestle Toll House bag or can eat my weight in a package of Double Stuf Oreos, it occasionally seems like, when it comes to baking, we lose the sense of adventure that we find in cooking and settle for the same old stuff time and time again. I think that there is space in this little baking world for both—we can enjoy the classics while also challenging ourselves with new and different ideas and flavors.

I’ve had some very fun opportunities to work in fancy schmancy restaurant kitchens alongside some truly genius chefs, who have taught me that there is something special about a great dessert. And I believe we can create that at home. I have two big goals on this blog:

1) to challenge you, home bakers of the inter-webs, to play around with unique and creative flavors that go beyond the familiar chocolate, peanut butter, sugar flavor palette

2) to teach you basic, foundational pastry and baking skills so that you are empowered to create desserts with your very own stamp.

With all of that in mind, when developing recipes, I ask myself a few different questions—

Is this recipe familiar enough to draw someone in, yet unique enough to pique their interest?

How can I take the multiple texture, multiple components of fancy plated desserts and incorporate them in a way that doesn’t feel overwhelming and labor intensive to a home a kitchen?

What flavors can we create using ingredients that are fairly accessible to a home baker? (aka—no fermenting summer flowers to reduce and use all through winter)

about this pumpkin ricotta tart recipe

All of that to say that this recipe ticks all the boxes. This was a fairly quick recipe to develop—one day, the idea just popped into my head and from conception to completion, the recipe development process only took two days. It just works.

I wanted to create a dessert for your Thanksgiving table that felt grown-up and elegant, while also familiar and comfortable. I wanted to create a dessert that could be made ahead of time, used very few dishes and only a little hands-on time, but that would look like you poured days into it. Et voila-a perfect pumpkin ricotta tart was born.

For this tart there are really two basic components: (plus a few optional extras to really wow everyone)

• a tart crust: For this recipe, and most tart recipes, we are using a basic pate sucreé or sweet crust dough. The difference between a sweet crust (sometimes called shortcrust) and a pie crust is simply the addition of eggs and sugar. The final result falls somewhere between a pie crust and a cookie. The tart crust itself takes maybe 10 minutes to make, but does need a little chill time. You can make it a few days ahead, chill it overnight, roll it out and line your tart pan and then just store your lined tart pan in the freezer until you’re ready to bake.

• a ricotta filling: We love a creamy ricotta filling. It feels a little like cheesecake but without being a giant slice of dairy, it’s light and fluffy and really quite dreamy. This ricotta filling is made in the food processor for maximum fluffiness and minimal effort. There’s a bit of citrus zest, sugar, cream cheese, eggs and yolks, and good ricotta (more on that later). Then, a portion of the filling is separated out doctored up with pumpkin and lots of festive spices. Once baked, the ricotta filling needs an overnight chill so again, you can make this whole dessert the day before.

• extras: In my humble opinion, there are two things that take a dessert from good to great: 1) contrasting flavors and 2) contrasting textures. For this tart, a very simple whipped crème fraîche takes the place of whipped cream and the cultured, tart flavor helps cut through some of the sweetness. I also made an olive oil caramel for plating and drizzling (again, you can make this lots of days ahead and keep it in your fridge) and I sprinkled some cookie crumbs on top. I used a bit of hazelnut streusel that I had in the freezer from another recipe, but you can use any crunchy cookie you’d like, store-bought or homemade (gingersnaps would be my number one recommendation)

picking good ricotta cheese

At risk of sounding bougie or a little too much like Ina Garten, good ricotta cheese is worth it. Often in Italy, ricotta is a sheep’s milk cheese, but most of what you see in American grocery stores is made from cow’s milk. High quality ricotta cheese has a richer (more cheese-like) flavor and larger curds. If you think about the tubs of ricotta cheese that you find in the refrigerated aisle of the grocery store, you’ll notice that the curds are very small, almost grain-like because of the fact that they make it in large-scale production. Fresher, smaller batch ricotta has larger curds and is a bit fluffier.

At my grocery store, they have small batch ricotta by the deli in the fancier cheese section (you can probably find this at markets like Whole Foods or Fresh Market). It’s a bit more expensive, but not outrageous. I think I spent $5 on the amount I used in this recipe. If you can’t find the artisan ricotta, a tub will work in this recipe—just be sure to buy the one labeled “whole milk”, you want all the richness and creaminess you can get!