Pumpkin Pecan Streusel Torte
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure policy.
With a cakey pecan crust, pumpkin pie filling, and crunchy streusel, this pumpkin torte is an easy and elegant alternative to pumpkin pie.
With a cakey pecan crust, pumpkin pie filling, and crunchy oat streusel topping, this torte is an easy and elegant alternative to more time-consuming holiday desserts, like Pumpkin Pie or Pumpkin Cheesecake. The recipe comes from Linda Grimes, a South Lake Tahoe restaurateur and also one of my readers. Thank you, Linda!
Pumpkin Torte Ingredients
Step-by-Step Instructions
Begin by combining the pecans, flour, brown sugar, butter, and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade.
Process until the nuts are finely ground.
Transfer the crust mixture to a greased springform pan.
Pat the crumbs into an even layer (I usually use the bottom of a glass or measuring cup to flatten it evenly), then set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs.
Add the remaining filling ingredients.
Whisk until evenly combined.
Pour the filling over the crust in the pan.
Bake for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, make the streusel topping: Combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, and spices in a medium bowl.
Mix well, then add the butter pieces.
Using your fingers, rub the butter into the other ingredients until the mixture is clumpy.
Stir in the pecans, and then refrigerate until ready to use.
Once the torte has baked for 30 minutes, remove it from the oven.
Sprinkle the streusel topping evenly over top.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes more, or until the filling is set and the streusel is golden.
Let the torte cool on a rack until completely cool, about 4 hours. To serve, remove the outer ring from the springform pan and transfer the torte to a platter.
Serve with sweetened whipped cream, if desired. Enjoy!
You may also like
- 24 Best Thanksgiving Side Dishes
- 16 Thanksgiving Desserts Worth Saving Room For
- Perfect Pumpkin Pie
- Pumpkin Cake
- Pumpkin Cheesecake with Gingersnap Crust and Caramel Sauce
- Pumpkin Scones with Spiced Pumpkin Glaze
Pumpkin Pecan Streusel Torte
With a cakey pecan crust, pumpkin pie filling, and crunchy streusel, this pumpkin torte is an easy and elegant alternative to pumpkin pie.
Ingredients
For the Crust
- 1 cup pecans
- ¾ cup all purpose flour
- 6 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
For the Filling
- 2 large eggs
- 1 (15-oz) can pure pumpkin, such as Libby's
- 1 (12 fl-oz) can evaporated milk
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar
- 1½ tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1¾ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon salt
For the Streusel
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup rolled oats
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- ¾ cup chopped pecans
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F and set an oven rack in the middle position. Spray a 9-inch springform pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- Make the Crust: Combine the pecans, flour, brown sugar, butter, and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Process until the nuts are finely ground. Transfer the crust mixture to the prepared pan. Using your hands or the bottom of a dry measuring cup, pat into an even layer. Place the pan on a baking sheet for easy handling and set aside.
- Make the Filling: In a large bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the remaining filling ingredients and whisk until smooth. Pour the filling over the crust in the pan. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the filling is set around the edges but still wobbly in the center.
- Make the Streusel Topping: Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Mix until well combined. Add the butter pieces and, using your fingers, rub the butter into the other ingredients until the mixture is evenly moistened and clumpy. Stir in the pecans and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Once the torte has baked for 30 minutes, remove it from the oven. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the partially baked filling (don't worry that the filling is still a bit liquid; the topping will not sink). Bake for 25 to 30 minutes more, until the filling is set and the topping is golden brown. Let the torte cool completely on a rack, about 4 hours. To serve, run a thin-bladed knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the torte from the sides, then remove the outer ring from the springform pan and transfer the torte to a platter. Slice into wedges and serve with sweetened whipped cream, if desired.
- This torte is best made on the day of serving. Store leftovers, loosely covered with foil, in the refrigerator. Allow to come to room temperature before serving.
Nutrition Information
Powered by 
- Per serving (10 servings)
- Calories: 432
- Fat: 24 g
- Saturated fat: 9 g
- Carbohydrates: 50 g
- Sugar: 35 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 7 g
- Sodium: 151 mg
- Cholesterol: 73 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
See more recipes:
Comments
Add a Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Made this recipe last night for the second time. It is a real crowd pleaser made exactly as set out n the recipe. Highly recommend for a wonderful change from pumpkin pie.
This dessert was amazing… I made it for Thanksgiving last year and now it’s on the list to make every year. It is 10x better then regular pumpkin pie. The crunchy crust on top made it!!!! My family absolutely loved this, Thank you…
Hi Julia, I think you could prepare it up to 2 days in advance, but don’t think I would push it more than that. (Store it in the fridge; just bring it to room temperature before serving.) Hope you have a great Thanksgiving!
Hi Jenn,
First, Congrats on the book tour! Are you coming to the Houston area anytime during the tour?
Now for the question. Can this torte be frozen?
Thanks
Hi Eric, thanks for the good wishes regarding my book! I don’t have any current plans to be in Houston but will definitely provide updates on my blog if that changes. And I haven’t frozen this so I can’t say for sure, but I don’t think I’d recommend it – sorry!
Delicious!
Hello, If I only have chopped pecans on hand, how much should I use to make the crust? I suppose the quantity would be less than the 1 cup of the whole pecans? Thanks!
Hi Caroline, The difference is pretty negligible so just go ahead and use the whole cup. Hope you enjoy it!
I have made this with pumpkin, and tried it by using sweet potato too, always comes out incredible. I added vanilla to the sweet potato version. One thing I tried doing as well is cooking out some of the water from the sweet potato or pumpkin which seems to strengthen the flavor of it some.
I made this recipe for Thanksgiving in 2016r (2 pies – 1 for my family and 1 for my boyfriend’s). I don’t typically care for pumpkin pie but this pie was exceptional -the crust sets it apart from other desserts. I almost made it again tthis past year – it is a keeper. I love all the recipes I have tried which is why I preordered the book as every recipe seems to be a big hit.
Excellent! My son is a foodie and hard to please, but when he bit into this dessert he said, “How come you are making all these delicious desserts lately?”. “All these desserts” referring to your Chocolate Cream Pie as well.
I’ve already made this a few times because everyone loves it so much. It’s very easy and looks so fancy. Pumpkin is quite unknown in cake form where I live, so many guests are sceptical at first…. and then end up asking for seconds and thirds!
The only problem is getting it out of the spring form. I can’t get spray oil, so I first buttered it. That didn’t work – half the bottom stuck to the form. Then I used parchment paper which worked, but I couldn’t get the cake off the paper before transferring it to the platter. Do you have any suggestions?
Hi Karen, so glad this recipe has been a hit! I’m surprised that it’s still sticking although you’ve treated it with butter. Next time, I would suggest just serving it directly from the base; that way you don’t have to try to remove it.
Will do! Thanks!
I made this with fresh pumpkin puree. It was delicious!
Incredible. Brought this to Friendsgiving and people were still raving about it today! Thank you, Jenn!
I made this for Thanksgiving dinner and it was the biggest hit ever. It is definitely a notch above plain pumpkin pie. The creaminess of the pumpkin filling with the crunch of the topping is perfection. I did add a whipped cream topping, but it is not necessary.
I love your recipes Jen -so many have become our family staples! I have referred numerous people to your site over the past few years -thank you for the great recipes! I’m so looking forward to your cookbook! I made this torte for the first time this Thanksgiving – a huge hit. We are renovating and at the last minute realized my springform was packed away so had to use a pie plate-still turned out great! I loved the flavor of the simple pecan crust. Hands down the best dessert at our gathering this year!
So glad you’re enjoying the recipes, Eve! 😊
I’ve made this recipe twice now and made a few changes to suit me and my family’s taste. The first time around, I followed the recipe exactly and it produced a too-soft filling that would squish when I cut through the streusel topping. To fix this, I cooked the pumpkin filling with the sugars and spices in a medium saucepan on medium heat for about 5 minutes. This reduced the moisture from the pumpkin puree, melted the sugars, and released the fragrance from the spices. It smelled so good! I then transferred it to my mixing bowl and let it sit a few minutes to cool before whisking in the eggs and continuing with the recipe. I also reduced the evaporated milk to 1 ¼ cups. A can usually contains 1 ½ cups so there’d be ¼ cup left. (I saved and used it in my mashed potatoes!). And since I love the flavor of spices, I upped the spices: 2 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp ginger, ½ tsp nutmeg, ¼ tsp cloves, 1/8 tsp black pepper. Everyone that had it thought it was perfectly spiced =) I also changed the streusel topping to make it a tad less sweet by using ¼ heaping cup brown sugar and ½ cup rolled oats. Everything else remained the same.
I’ve made this twice now and both times it turned out wonderful. It’s an easy recipe with well written directions. This torte looked great, tasted delicious, and received rave reviews from my family and friends. As a small warning, I recommend putting aluminum foil under the pan because it dripped liquid in my oven both times (forgot the second time until it was too late). I especially love that you can make this a day to two in advance, definitely helpful for holiday hosting. Another keeper!
This was delicious and easy to make. It looked really impressive, too! Thanks. 🙂
Hi Jenn, do you think I could replace the pecans with walnuts? Thanks
Sure, Caroline, I think that would work. LMK how it turns out!
Awesome! At thanksgiving dinner, the Torte won out over pumpkin pie and apple pie (and homemade chocolate-chip brownies!) The others only had token amounts taken. I have a new contender for best thing to make for thanksgiving: this torte or Cook’s Illustrated’s Pumpkin Cheesecake
Can I substitute half and half or heavy cream for the evaporated milk?
Hi Vera, I’ve only made this with evaporated milk, but a few readers have commented that they’ve used some substitutes (including half & half and evaporated soy milk) with success. Hope that helps!
Hi Jenn- Any tips to make it easier to cleanly remove the torte from the bottom of the pan? When I made this last year, it was absolutely delicious but I ended up just leaving it on the pan because I knew there was no way I’d be able to remove it without it completely coming apart. I’d love to be able to serve it on a nice platter this year. Thanks!
Hi Melissa, It takes two very large spatulas to get it off in one piece!
Is there anyway to make this torte in a 9 x 13 pan to serve more people ?
Hi Linda, You could try increasing the recipe by 1.5 — and then cut the pieces into squares. Please lmk how it turns out if you try it that way.
Can you make this without the condensed milk? Is there a substitute>
Hi Susan, I’ve only made this with evaporated milk, but a few readers have commented that they have used some substitutes (half & half, evaporated soy milk) with success. Hope that helps!
Hi Jenn, love your flavorful recipes. I often check here first when looking for a new recipe. I’ve made your pumpkin pie before and really liked the texture and consistency of the filling. Do you think that pie filling can be used for this recipe? Thanks!
Hi Ann, It would probably work but since I’ve never tried it, I’d be nervous to fiddle with it. This filling for this torte is pretty similar – and the quantities are just right for the torte – so I’d suggest following the recipe as is. Hope that helps!
It was a hit! The streusel definitely takes it to another level. Thanks again’
Hello Jenn,
It’s Canadian Thanksgiving this weekend for us north of the border. I wanted to know.. would it be a sin preparing this a couple of days in advance? I know you state in your recipe that it can be made a day ahead, but I would really like to make it 2-3 days in advance. If you give the go ahead, how should I store it until Thanksgiving Monday? Thank you. I am so looking forward to making this!
Hi Diana, I think you could prepare it up to 2 days ahead, but not sure I would push it more than that. And I’d store it in the fridge; just bring it to room temperature before serving. Happy Thanksgiving!
Canadian Thanksgiving is this weekend. My mom never cooked pumpkin anything growing up; and, one experience with pumpkin pie a long time ago validated for me why she never did. But the rave reviews on this recipe convinced me to take a leap of faith and boy am I happy that I did! What a delightfully light and silky dessert. 🙂 I love the cake-like base. It’s not tough like some crusts can be and, bonus, you don’t have to pre-bake it! My daughter helped me to half the torte (for her boyfriend’s family,) and tasting the streusel topping almost sent her over the moon. Yummy!!! It’s not a heavy ending to a meal, and I didn’t find it too sweet. I didn’t have any cream to whip, so I served it with vanilla ice-cream. I do have two regrets though: (1) Half my streusel went out the door, and (2) I made this early in the week leaving me to have to make another dessert for our Thanksgiving dinner. !!! Moo.
🙂 So glad you liked it (even if you had to make two)!
Hello Jenn,
I wanted to know what baking items you rely on, specifically bakeware?
What brand to you like, for example what type of springform pans do you use?
Hi Diana, I really like the Chicago Metallic brand for bakeware (including my springform pan).
I made this forThanksgiving desert. It was a huge hit. Because I have egg and dairy allergies, I made some substitutions.
I made my own evaporated almond milk and used EnerG egg replacer and Earth Balance buttery spread. I baked it about 15 minutes longer and it turned out perfect. No one even suspected that it was a vegan version. Delicious. Will be making again this year.
I have an egg allergy and use duck eggs in the place of chicken eggs. Duck eggs’ shells are “tougher”, but they look the same on the inside. Duck is Alkaline, higher in nutrients such as Omega III, and richer tasting. They have more Albumen, too, which makes baking fluffier/cakes rise higher, than chicken egg which is acidic. Duck egg is a much healthier choice if you are fighting/surviving cancer (cancer cells will not thrive in an alkaline environment).
Everyone loved this dessert!
I found the recipe irresistible and made it for our New Years dinner. By choice I omitted the streusel topping to cut back on sugar & fat. I cooked up butternut squash and mashed it rather than pumpkin. After that I followed the recipe as written. Everything was excellent, definitely my go to pumpkin dessert recipe.
I don’t doubt the streusel is part of the recipe for a reason and adds to the recipe being special. I am not suggesting others should omit it, however, I can say it was absolutely delicious without it.
I made this TWICE over the Christmas Season. It is FABULOUS! The recipe is perfect and I followed it exactly. Thank you!
I made this for Christmas and it was wonderful! It will be on our table for years to come. My husband’s former favorite dessert was Sawdust Pie and he said he now has a new favorite! Love your recipes!
I made this for Thanksgiving. It was so good, best part it’s so nutty and not overly sweet!! Thanks Jen!
Hi, Jennifer. Do I use old fashioned oat for this or quick cooking oats? Thanks so much!
Old fashioned– enjoy!
I made this with well drained, mashed sweet potatoes instead of pumpkin and it was fantastic! I decreased the sugar by 1/3 because the potatoes were sweet to start with. It was easy to put together yet looked so elegant. Like every other baking recipe on this site, I did have to increase the cook time.
I made this recipe twice. The first time I didn’t have a springform pan, only a shallow pie dish. Therefore I divided the recipe in half and made two shallow pies and they were delicious. The second time I made this recipe with the springform pan. I found with the correct pan the recipe had a lot more pumpkin flavor, as compared to the shallow pan with more pecan flavor. Both were delicious and I’m honestly not sure which I like better.
This was a big hit at the Thanksgiving table this year, especially with my daughter’s boyfriend! It was a nice change from the standard pumpkin pie or pumpkin pudding recipe I usually serve. I made the crust 2 days before and just wrapped and stored in the freezer to save time. Easy to pull together. We served with some fresh whipped cream.
This was really good! The filling was light. I’m a pumpkin pie lover but I’m going to be hard pressed to go back to the simple pie recipe after this.
I wish you could come up with similar version for key lime pie. My husband loves it, but for me it is too sweet.
This is the best and most flavorful pupmkin dessert I have ever made! I brought it to Thanksgiving dinner at a friend’s home and eveybody asked for the recipe. It was easy to put together. I did make a bit of a mess in the oven while baking it but I’ll blame that on my springform pan. texture is a biggy for me with pumpkin desserts and this dessert has a nice creamy texture.
So easy to make and tastier than plain pumpkin pie. My husband even had some and he doesn’t like pumpkin pie. This crust and topping would be excellent with either a plain or pumpkin cheesecake. That’s how I’ll make it next time and he’s sure to love it.
First of all, this dessert looks totally impressive but it really is not hard at all to make. In fact, with the press in pecan crust–it’s actually less time-consuming that making a regular pumpkin pie (with a homemade crust). But of course looks aren’t what counts, taste is and WOW! It was so good. Pumpkin Pie can be too pumpkiny, but this has just enough of the pumpkin pie filling to give you the pie experience, but the crust and streusal tone it down, as well as adding texture and taste. I made this for Thanksgiving this year and I don’t think we’ll ever go back to pumpkin pie again.
My husband is the pumpkin pie lover in the family. He raved about this recipe. I am an apple pie girl, but have to admit this was delicious! Never again plain pumpkin pie….this is just special, and easy! Thanks again Jenn, another winner.
I made this torte for Thanksgiving in place of my usual pumpkin pie. It was a great hit. I still had the pumpkin pie craving fulfilled along with the delicious struesel topping.
The bottom crust did get soft after a day but still yummy.
I also made this for Thanksgiving and it was a big success. I used my new Vitamix to chop/mix the first two layers and it was very quick and easy. The torte looked beautiful when I removed it from the pan so the presentation was perfect. I served it with fresh whipped cream. This is going to replace my traditional pumpkin pie recipe for holidays going forward.
I made this for Thanksgiving this year and it was a success! It’s like a pumpkin pie and a pecan pie had a baby. I added bourbon-infused whipped cream for the grown ups. Perfect!
Hi Jen, I can’t get pure pumpkin where I live but we do have Libby’s pumpkin pie filling. Would this be ok to use and would I need to adjust the spices?
Thanks in advance,
Kate
Hi Kate, I think it would be too sweet with pumpkin pie filling. You could roast and puree pumpkin yourself if you’re feeling ambitious, or canned sweet potato puree should work here too.
Hi. I just followed the recipe but noticed it needs to sit 4 hours. If I only have 2 hours can I refrigerate to expedite the cooling?
I think you could get away with it, but I’d wait as long as you can to put it in the fridge so it doesn’t form a lot of condensation. Hope you enjoy!
I made this for Thanksgiving this year upon a request from my sister in law. It was very easy even though it looks like it would be complicated. It was very good and got rave reviews. I made it a few days prior to serving and it was fine. I made homemade whipped cream to eat with it. It made a fine presentation too. I wrapped the bottom of my spring form pan with foil and baked it on a cookie sheet just in case. I only had to add 5-10 minutes on my baking time probably because of my oven.
Everyone, except me, really enjoyed this alternative to pumpkin pie. I think the streusel on top of a creamy feeling was not to my taste.
I was looking for a dessert idea for Thanksgiving that wasn’t boring OR difficult, and this fit the bill! Not only was it better than pumpkin pie, my husband asked me to make it again on Sunday and I did, (It disappeared again by Tuesday) everyone loved it!
Hi Jenn,
This is my first review! Every recipe I have followed from your site has been fantastic and your Pumpkin Pecan Streusel Torte is absolutely delicious! I made it in a 9″ pie plate and had no difficulty cutting pieces. We had it with whipped cream and found we preferred it chilled. It is a wonderful recipe that I will keep forever! Thank you for all your effort to develop these recipes for all of us to enjoy!
Karen