Marshmallow Spiderweb Pumpkin Tart
Carve out some fun this Halloween with a Marshmallow Spiderweb Pumpkin Tart. Made with a no roll gingersnap crust, this simple cobweb-topped tart is creepy, crawly and cute.
Ahhh, October…, the month when Halloween lurks around the corner like the boogeyman, the air is cold and candy is free to anyone in a costume. It’s a glorious time to be alive. Young or old, headed horseman or headless, everybody looks forward to All Hallows’ Eve. Especially me. Although I won’t be galloping through the streets with a jack-o-lantern on my head this October 31st (don’t worry, it’s on my bucket list for next year), I’m still keeping things spooky with the help of a pumpkin.
Instead of covering my face with a carved pumpkin, I will be stuffing my face with a pumpkin tart. There’s no need to wait until Thanksgiving to satisfy a pumpkin craving when Halloween will do the trick and be the treat. With a little imagination and some little marshmallows you can turn a Thanksgiving classic into a spooktacular showpiece for your Halloween party.
With a no roll gingersnap crust, this tart is frighteningly easy to make. Just pulse a handful of ingredients in a food processor, press in a tart pan and bake for 10 minutes to set. Then, whisk the pumpkin filling ingredients in a bowl, pour into the gingersnap crust and bake for 45 minutes. After the tart cools at room temperature, pop it in the refrigerator to chill until it’s party time. Lastly, channel your inner spider by weaving a web of melted marshmallows and sticking it to the top of the tart.
It’s a messy job but who’s to complain when you get to lick melted marshmallows off your fingertips? Nobody, that’s who, because melty marshmallows are the best part of this spooky tart. Add a few decorative spiders to the edible web and your October festivities are guaranteed to be crawling with fun.
Before sharing the recipe for this spooky Pumpkin Tart, here are a few tips to help you out:
Ingredient Tips
This recipe calls for canned pumpkin puree. Fresh puree will work in a pinch, but will yield different results than canned due to the higher moisture content. Before baking with fresh puree, place it in several layers of paper towels and squeeze until excess liquid is reduced.
Thin, crispy gingersnaps work best for the crust. I used a private label brand from my local grocery store.
Preparation Tips
You can make the crust 1 day in advance. Cover and store at room temperature until ready to fill.
You can make the pumpkin tart 1 day in advance. Cover and store in the refrigerator until ready to top with the marshmallow spiderweb.
Recipe yields more filling than we’ll use for this tart. Freeze excess filling for later use or bake in tartlet pans for mini pies.
Wondering how to make marshmallow spiderwebs? It’s a simple as melting mini marshmallows in the microwave then using your fingers to stretch until stringy and drape them over the tart. If you want to avoid sticky fingertips, you can accomplish the task with two forks instead.
Can you Freeze a Pumpkin Tart?
Yes, this Pumpkin Tart freezes well. After tart has cooled completely, wrap tightly with plastic wrap then with aluminum foil and freeze up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before topping with the marshmallow spiderweb.
How Long will a Pumpkin Tart Keep at Room Temperature?
This Pumpkin Tart can be left at room temperature for up to 2 hours at your Halloween party.
I hope you enjoy this Marshmallow Spiderweb Pumpkin Tart. Please leave a rating and review when you try it yourself. And, while you’re at it, sign up for my Recipe Newsletter so you never miss a tempting recipe.
Finally, if you like homemade Halloween desserts you’ll love this recipe for Chocolate Halloween Cookies. Rich and chewy, the Dutch chocolate cookies are chockful of M&M’s and Halloween sprinkles for a scary good party snack.
Marshmallow Spiderweb Pumpkin Tart
Equipment
- Food Processor
Ingredients
Gingersnap Crust
- 6 ounces gingersnap cookies
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
- 3 tbsp dark brown sugar packed
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter melted
Pumpkin Filling
- 15 ounces canned pumpkin puree
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- 3/4 cup dark brown sugar packed
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp sea salt fine
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract pure
Marshmallow Spiderweb
- 1 cup mini marshmallows
Instructions
Gingersnap Crust
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Lightly grease the bottom and the sides of a 9-inch tart pan with removeable bottom or coat pan with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
- Place gingersnap cookies in a food processor then pulse until fine crumbs form.
- Add chopped walnuts, brown sugar sugar and cinnamon to the food processor then pulse until walnuts are finely ground.
- Add melted butter then pulse a few times until the mixture is evenly moistened.
- Press mixture into bottom and up sides of your greased tart pan.
- Bake for 10 minutes until crust is lightly brown. Avoid overbaking; crust will continue to brown when it returns to the oven with the filling.
- Remove from the oven and and allow crust to cool while you prepare the filling.
Pumpkin Filling
- Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all pumpkin pie ingredients until smooth.
- Place tart pan on foiled cookie sheet then pour pumpkin mixture into crust, filling 90% of the way.Note: To avoid overfilling the tart, the remaining pumpkin filling will not be needed for this recipe. Excess filling can be frozen for later use or to make mini pies in tartlet pans.
- Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until edges are set and the center is slightly jiggly. Tart will continue to set as it cools. Avoid overbaking or the filling may crack.
- Place tart pan on a wire rack to cool completely, approximately 3 hours.
- Cover and store pumpkin tart in the refrigerator.
- When ready to serve, blot any moisture doplets on the tart with a paper towel, remove the side ring from your tart pan and let tart sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before topping with marshmallow spiderwebs.
Marshmallow Spiderweb
- Place mini marshmallows in a microwave safe bowl and heat for 20 seconds.
- Remove bowl from microwave then stir until smooth. Caution: marshmallows will be very hot. After stirring, allow marshmallows to cool for 3 minutes.
- Using the fingertips, pinch a small amount of melted marshmallows in each hand then stretch until marshmallow mixture is stringy like a web.
- Lay marshmallow strings across the top the pumpkin tart, draping ends over over the sides of the crust.
- Repeat the web making process until desired look is achieved then top with decorative spiders to complete the cobweb look.