Recipe: Barefoot Contessa Pumpkin Banana Mousse Tart (with graham cracker crust)

PUMPKIN BANANA MOUSSE TART
"I wrote this recipe for my entertaining series for O, Oprah's magazine. It was inspired by a pumpkin mousse that my mother had made for years for Thanksgiving. Its lighter and much more flavorful than that cloying old pumpkin pie. People really do go nuts for it."



FOR THE CRUST:
2 cups graham cracker crumbs (14 crackers)
1/3 cup white granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

FOR THE FILLING:
1/2 cup half-and-half
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree (not sweetened pie filling)
1 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 extra-large egg yolks
1 package (2 teaspoons) unflavored gelatin
1 ripe banana, finely mashed
1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest
1/2 cup cold heavy (whipping) cream
2 tablespoons white granulated sugar

FOR THE DECORATION:
1 cup (1/2 pint) cold heavy (whipping) cream
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Orange zest (optional)

TO MAKE THE CRUST:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the graham cracker crumbs, 1/3 cup white sugar, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, and melted butter in a bowl and mix well. Pour into an 11-inch tart pan with a removable bottom and press evenly into the sides and then the bottom.

Bake for 10 minutes and then cool to room temperature.

TO MAKE THE FILLING:
Heat the half-and-half, pumpkin, brown sugar, salt, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, and nutmeg in a heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water until hot, about 5 minutes.

Whisk the egg yolks in another bowl, stir some of the hot pumpkin into the egg yolks to heat them, then pour the egg-pumpkin mixture back into the double boiler and stir well.

Heat the mixture over the simmering water for another 4 to 5 minutes, until it begins to thicken, stirring constantly You don't want the eggs to scramble. Remove from the heat.

Dissolve the gelatin in 1/4 cup cold water. Add the dissolved gelatin, banana, and orange zest to the pumpkin mixture and mix well. Set aside to cool.

Whip the 1/2 cup heavy cream in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment until soft peaks form. Add the 2 tablespoons white sugar and continue to whisk until you have firm peaks. Carefully fold the whipped cream into the pumpkin mixture and pour it into the cooled tart shell. Chill for 2 hours or overnight.

FOR THE DECORATION:
Whip the 1 cup heavy cream in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until soft peaks form. Add the sugar and vanilla and continue to whisk until you have firm peaks. Pipe or spoon the whipped cream decoratively on the tart and sprinkle, if desired, with orange zest. Serve chilled.

This tart can be made a day or two ahead and kept refrigerated. Decorate it with whipped cream an hour or two before serving.

Makes 1 (11-inch) tart, 10 servings
Used by permission to Recipelink.com from Clarkson Potter
Source: Barefoot Contessa Family Style by Ina Garten