Was just having some Halloween fun today and made this spiderweb-themed gluten-free, vegan and paleo chocolate pumpkin tart! This is probably one of my sillier recipes, but I just couldn't resist, you know... ;) . The cobweb pattern is extremely easy to make, and it's a great way to dress up a decadent chocolate pumpkin tart for the occasion, isn't it? If you want to go all out, complete with a little spider and you'll be all set for a spooky Halloween treat {I opted for some tasty cacao nibs instead... typical! ;) }.
Note: For a Paleo AIP version of this tart, use carob in place of cocoa powder, and omit nutmeg and allspice. It'll be just as yummy, because carob and pumpkin make a lot of sense together, as proven by my Carob Pumpkin Tart ;) .
Oh, and you're welcome to skip the spiderweb part if you're not the creepy crawly type and are here for the decadent chocolate pumpkin tart ;) . Garnish with some cacao nibs, shredded coconut, sliced almonds, etc., or have it plain -- whatever floats your boat ;)
UPDATE: Just got word from a friend who tried this tart -- he pointed out I missed out on a critical ingredient: salt! And you know what, he's totally right! I don't know how I could have missed that. I always salt my chocolate! I think I got distracted by the pumpkin and the cobweb, and... well, anyways, a sprinkle of salt flakes on top takes this tart from wonderful to INCREDIBLE! Highly recommended! Thanks for the suggestion, Max!
UPDATE 2: This recipe is a little older, back from a time I tried to brainstorm a lot of paleo-friendly ideas for sweets. I have to say, when I make it nowadays I use a different crust for it -- my favorite being the crust from this recipe (you need to triple the recipe for this pie size, oil the pan first, then bake the crust first for about 20 mins). Highly recommend it.
PrintChocolate Pumpkin Tart -- Spiderweb Fun :)
Was just having some autumn fun today and made this spiderweb-themed gluten-free, vegan and paleo chocolate pumpkin tart! The cobweb pattern is easy...
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 hours (up to 3)
- Total Time: 2 hours 25 minutes
- Yield: 7" mini tart
- Category: Tarts
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Dessert
Ingredients
Crust:
- 3 tbsp coconut oil, melted
- 3 tbsp maple syrup, at room temperature
- ½ tbsp pure vanilla extract
- 7 tbsp pumpkin puree at room temp. (I used 1 15oz can pumpkin puree in total for this recipe and took the 7 tbsp from that. You can also use your own cooked pumpkin puree but make sure it’s not too runny; strain the liquid out if necessary)
- dash of salt
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ½ cup coconut flour
- 3 tbsp tapioca starch
Filling:
- 1 ¼ cup pumpkin puree (room temp)
- 1 cup coconut oil, very soft or liquified (but not hot)
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- 6 tbsp maple syrup (or liquid sweetener of your choice)
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp of each: cloves, allspice, and nutmeg
Spiderweb:
- 2-3 tablespoon non-dairy milk (I used almond)
- 1 ½ tbsp coconut oil, liquified
- 2 tbsp coconut manna (coconut butter), warmed until liquified
- ½ tbsp maple syrup
- ½ tbsp tapioca starch
Optional:
- Some cacao nibs for garnish or some Halloween themed candy (like an edible chocolate spider, etc.).
- Some salt flakes
Instructions
1. Pre-heat oven to 350F. Oil your 7" tart pan and set aside.
2. Place coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla, pumpkin puree, salt, and cinnamon in a medium mixing bowl and use an immersion blender to blend the mixture into a smooth consistency (note: if you don’t have an immersion blender, blend all the ingredients in a regular blender and then pour into a mixing bowl). Add coconut and tapioca flours and mix well using a wooden spoon until everything is thoroughly combined.
3. Scoop out the mixture into the pan. Use your hands to press the mixture down along the bottom and up around the walls of the pan forming the crust. Use a fork to pierce some holes along the base of the crust to prevent bubbling during baking. Bake in a pre-heated oven for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and allow the crust to cool in the pan on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes.
4. In the meantime, place all chocolate filling ingredients into a high-speed blender (I used my Vitamix for this recipe) and process until mixture is smooth (you may need to pause and scrape down the sides a few times in the process to make sure it's well blended). Once the tart shell has cooled, pour this mixture into the tart and smooth out the top with a spatula.
5. Blend the spiderweb mixture ingredients together until fully smooth. Note: start with just 2 tablespoon milk and increase the quantity only if necessary so that the mixture is runny but not too thin.
6. Pour the spiderweb mixture into a squirty-bottle or piping bag and pour onto the top of the tart in a spiral pattern, starting in the center of the tart and drawing the spiral rings out until you reach the edges. Then use a wooden skewer (or something similar), and gently draw a line from the center of the tart to the outer edge. Repeat this going all around the tart until you've created a spiderweb. [See illustration below]
7. Chill tart in the fridge for at least 2-3 hours prior to slicing. It will remain solid {and mousse-like} at room temperature after that {so long as it's not too hot where you are}, or you can keep it chilled until serving time if you prefer a chilled chocolate pumpkin tart. Sprinkle with optional toppings {like cacao nibs and salt flakes} and enjoy!
Oh, I forgot to mention that you'll have some of the spiderweb mixture leftover because you need to make extra to make sure you have enough to work with for the tart. The leftover mixture makes an awesome dairy-free vegan and paleo coffee creamer! Add 2-3 tablespoon to your drink and it'll taste like a creamy hazelnut coffee! {Note: it should be used up fairly quickly as it will solidify if stored in the fridge}
Julie says
Also, what is the difference between tapioca flour (In the crust) and tapioca starch (in the spiderweb)? The Bob’s Red Mill site says that they are the same thing, unless you are really looking for cassava flour, which also comes from the cassava plant. Can you please verify? I’m making this for a birthday cake and have to get it right the first time ;-)
The Real Person!
Hi Julia, you are correct -- they're the same thing and I use the two names interchangeably (though usually remember to stay consistent within a recipe to avoid confusion, but somehow slipped up on this one). I'll edit it now so it's clearer. Enjoy! :)
Joyce Tan says
Hi Audrey,
I’m very keen to make your chocolate pumpkin
tart, could you please advise me how to remove crust from the tart pan after it is baked on to a serving plate ?
The Real Person!
Hi Joyce. I used tart pan with a removable bottom (like this kind). So when the pie is ready, you can just push the bottom up through the pan and the whole pie comes out clean.
If you don't have a pan with a removable bottom, the easiest thing would be to cut out slices -- once you get the first slice out the rest typically comes out easier.
Catherine says
I would like to use cocoa butter instead of coconut oil; any idea of the amount I should use? It is more solid once cold then coconut oil, so I guess I would need to use less- maybe 1/4 cup cocoa butter ?
The Real Person!
Hi Catherine, I'd try it with 6-8 tbsp (I'm leaning towards 8). Would love to hear how it turns out! :)
Carol Ann says
This pie is such a treat! I thought that 1 cup of oil was a lot so I only put 1/2 cup and the filling turned out really nice and rich anyway! :)
The Real Person!
You know, it's funny, as this is a super old recipe, but since you drew my attention to it, I can't imagine today developing a recipe with 1 cup of coconut oil! :o How times change! :) I can totally see it working with less as well -- glad to hear 1/2 a cup worked well for you.
Charlotte says
I haven’t tried this yet - looks amazing! Just wondered if it’s possible to freeze?
Thanks,
Charlotte
The Real Person!
Hi Charlotte. Yes, absolutely. It freezes very well. Just thaw it out a bit before serving and you're good to go. Enjoy it!
Matthias says
This is the recipe whose photo led me to this site. I'd never planned making a vegan cake because all of them I've tried before have been extraordinarily dull. About paleo I've learned from google because of this site. Interesting approach, but it was the pictures, then the almost exotic ingredients (I'm German) and finally the enthusiastic writing convincing me that this would definitely be a surprising new experience for a lactivore like me.
And needless to say that it became the most wonderful silly cake I've ever made. Blew away also everyone I gave a piece to try, although I didn't use the allspice because I thought it was a spice mixture that I would never find here. Next time I'll use "Piment" and I'm sure it'll be an even more fantastic taste.
The Real Person!
Hello Matthias. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts on this dessert. I'm so glad it worked out well for you :) Enjoy it!
Marilyn says
Wow!!! I made this for our Mom's Break Room at my homeschool co-op. It was so popular that I had to post a link to your recipe on our Yahoo group board. Even the sugar eating, used to typical dessert moms were blown away. Plus, with the gorgeous spider web pattern, everyone was sure that I bought it. This was the first time in over a year that I finally felt like being in my kitchen and your recipe was my inspiration. Thank you for creating delicious but food sensitive friendly desserts. I am excited to bake for Thanksgiving this year using your recipes, since I am not the only one with multiple food sensitivities in our family.
The Real Person!
Hi Marilyn,
So sorry for the delayed reply but just wanted to say thank you so much for the lovely feedback. I'm sooooo happy to hear it went over well :) Glad everyone enjoyed it!
Stephanie says
If using the crust from the maple pie recipe as you recommend in your update, do we still follow the same baking instructions for the original crust in this recipe?
The Real Person!
Hi Stephanie. Good catch -- I just added a few notes on how I do that, which I should have included to begin with. But yeah, you just want to oil the pan lightly and then bake the crust for about 20 mins, so similar to previous crust instructions0.
Monica says
Hi,
I'm not seeing the step where we COOK the tart in the oven. This cooks, right? But for how long? And is the spider web added to the COOLED tart?
I'm in the middle of the recipie and its just got confusing. Otherwise, the pie crust looks great & the filling tastes delicious uncooked.
Thanks for the recipie and your reply.
The Real Person!
Hi Monica,
Glad you're enjoying the crust and filling :)
The crust is baked in this tart, but the filling is not. The baking instructions for the crust are in steps 1 & 3. But then once it's baked, you put the filling in, then create the spiderweb patter, and then allow the whole tart to chill and set.
Enjoy it!
Laura says
Can I use gluten free all purpose flour in place of the tapioca and coconut flours for the crust?
The Real Person!
Hi Laura,
Unfortunately you'll need to change the recipe quite a bit to replace the crust with all purpose flour instead of coconut and tapioca, because the flours act completely differently. Coconut flour requires a lot of moisture, so there is a lot more of the "wet ingredients" in the crust than I would have used if going with another flour. I've never made this with a regular flour though to be able to give you a more precise substitution.
You can however try any one of the following crusts for an alternative:
This pie crust: https://www.unconventionalbaker.com/gluten-free-vegan-blueberry-pie-refined-sugar-free/ {can just use 2 cups regular flour in place of the gluten-free mix}
1/2 of the crust from this pie: https://www.unconventionalbaker.com/rustic-almond-peach-pie-gluten-free-dairy-free-refined-sugar-free/
The no-bake crust from this pie: https://www.unconventionalbaker.com/raw-strawberry-papaya-ice-cream-tart-vegan-gluten-free-paleo/ {can be made with almonds or another nut in place of mulberries}
Laura says
Thank you so much for the reply! I'm so new to gluten free and vegan baking ?
The Real Person!
No worries. Happy to help :)
Julie says
Regular coconut oil, or odorless coconut oil?? I have never made a recipe with this much coconut oil, and I am afraid that it will taste more coconut than chocolate. Please advise.
The Real Person!
Hi Julie. I like using de-scented coconut oil when I can (especially since my husband really dislikes anything coconutty), though either will work fine here. I guess it depends on your level of love for coconut :) By your comment, I'd guess you'll want to go with a de-scented version.
New Crunchy Mom says
Hi there! I just wanted to tell you, I tried this recipe yesterday and it's a hit at our house. I made some substitutions, but it still turned out wonderful. :) I wrote about it here and tried to give you proper attribution. <3 https://thatnewcrunchymom.wordpress.com/2015/09/29/pinterest-project-pass-or-fail/
The Real Person!
Thank you so much for sharing! I can't wait to see how it turned out :)
Laura@Baking in Pyjamas says
I love this tart Audrey, it looks wonderful! Thanks for linking up to Sweet and Savoury Sunday, stop by and link up again. Have a great day!!
The Real Person!
Thanks so much, Laura!
Julia says
This chocolate pumpkin tart looks so amazingly smooth and delicious! Exquisite!
The Real Person!
Thanks Julia! I can certainly attest to it's smoothness and deliciousness ;)