Ingredients:
· 8.5 oz. oreo cookie, insides removed
· ½ C. pecans
· 7 T. butter, melted
· Pinch of salt
· --
· 8 oz. cream cheese
· ½ C. white sugar
· ½ C. brown sugar
· 1/3 C. maple
· 2 C. pumpkin
· 1.5 T. pumpkin pie spice
· 6 eggs
· ½ T. vanilla
· 1.5 C. heavy cream
Preparation
1. For the crust – grind the preo cookie and pecans down in a food processor. Move to a mixing bowl and combine the with the butter and salt. Mix well.
2. Cut a piece of parchment the size of the pan and place down inside a high walled 10” or 12 inch cake pan. Press the crumb into the base of the pan, not up the walls, and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes while making the filling.
3. To make the filling – combine the cream cheese with both sugars in a mixer with the whisk attachment. Whip until smooth, scraping the sides down often. Add the maple and when incorporated add the pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice. Whisk until incorporated, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl.
4. Add the eggs one at a time making sure they are incorporated before add the next one. Then add the vanilla and heavy cream. Mix batter until smooth.
5. Preheat oven to 350. Remove the cake pan from the refrigerator and add the batter. Place in a larger pan with 1 ½“ water and bake uncovered until set, but still jiggly in the middle. For a 12” pan, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. For a high walled 10 inch, start with 1 hour and 15 minutes and then adjust up according as needed to cook and set the middle.
6. Remove from oven and the water bath. Place on a cooling rack and let the torte come to room temperature. When room temperature, place in the refrigerator overnight.
7. Remove the torte from the pan, and remove the parchment from the bottom. Cover with glacage and decorate the edges with crushed candied pecans, garnish with candied burnt oranges.
Pumpkin Torte Accessories:
Dark Chocolate Glacage:
· 7.5 sheets gelatin
· 12.5 oz. dark chocolate
· ¾ C + 2 T. water
· 1 1/3 C. sugar
· ¾ C. + 2 T. heavy cream
· 3 T. cocoa powder
1. Bloom the gelatin in cold water.
2. Heat the water, sugar, heavy cream in a saucepan. Bring it just to a boil and turn off the heat. Stir in the vanilla and bloomed gelatin until it is fully dissolved.
3. Place the chocolate in a bowl and pour the hot liquid over it. Let the mixture sit for a few minutes until the chocolate is fully melted. Using an immersion blender (or poured into a blender), process until it is very smooth. Be careful not to introduce too many bubbles since every minor imperfection will show on the surface. For the same reason, strain the glacage through a sieve to remove any stray particles.
Candied Pecans
· 2 T. corn syrup
· 1 T. brown sugar
· 1 tsp pasilla chile powder
· ½ tsp. cinnamon
· ¼ tsp. vanilla
· 1 C. pecans, chopped
1. In a small saucepan, combine everything except for the nuts. Heat over medium low heat to dissolve the sugar. When the sugar is dissolved, toss with the nuts in a bowl and coat well. Transfer to a silicone mat covered baking sheet and bake in a 325 degree oven for about 15-20 minutes or until the syrup is dry – stirring every 5 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.
Candied Oranges:
2 oranges, sliced very thin, seeds removed
¾ C. sugar
¾ C. water
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Sugar for caramelizing
1. In a saute pan, combine the sugar and water and bring to a boil. Toss in the orange slices, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for around 5 minutes until soft. Remove carefully from the sugar syrup and place on a cooling rack to dry.
2. When the oranges are dried, softly dip 1 side of the orange in sugar, and then burn the sugar with a torch. Let harden. Use as a garnish for the torte, when sliced.
Pumpkin Pie Spice
1 T. cinnamon, freshly ground
1 T. ginger, ground
1 T. coriander, roasted and freshly ground
2 ¼ tsp. mace, ground
¾ tsp. clove, roasted and freshly ground
1. In a saute pan, dry roast and the coriander and clove. Let cool and then grind to a powder. Mix all ingredients together and store in a cool dry place.
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