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Overhead shot of babaco pie on a light wooden background with four slices off the side.
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Ecuadorian Babaco Tart or Pie

This traditional Ecuadorian Babaco Tart recipe combines babaco (mountain papaya) preserves with a buttery, golden sweet tart or pie crust.
Course Dessert, Sweets
Cuisine Ecuadorian, Latin American
Keyword Babaco, Ecuadorian fruit, Mountain papaya, Pie, Sweet tart
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours
Cooling time 1 hour
Total Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Servings 8 portions

Ingredients

For the dulce de babaco filling:

  • 1 babaco yellow but firm***
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 ½ - 2 cups sugar if you use regular sugar the preserves will be a lighter color and if you use brown sugar they will be darker
  • 1-2 cinnamon sticks
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • 1 piece of orange peel

For the sweet tart dough:

  • 1 ½ cups of all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • A pinch of salt
  • 1 stick of butter 4 ounces cut into small pieces
  • 1 egg
  • 2-3 tablespoons cold water

Instructions

To make the babaco preserves:

  • Peel the babaco, remove or scoop out the seeds (soft inside part), and cut the babaco into long strips or squares.
    A ripe babaco fruit next to a cutting board with peeled and sliced babaco fruit pieces
  • Blend seeds/insides with 1 cup of water, strain.
  • Combine the babaco pieces, the blended mix, the remaining 1 cup of water, lime juice, sugar, cinnamon and orange peel in a pot over medium heat.
  • Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 45 min- 1hr.
    Babaco preserves cooking on the stove
  • Cook for another 15-30 minutes over medium-high heat to thicken the syrup. Let it cool down completely and drain the syrup (save the syrup as you can use it as a fruity simple syrup).
    Dulce de babaco in a white bowl

To make the sweet tart dough:

  • Combine the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor and mix.
  • Add the butter pieces, in batches, and pulse until mixed.
    Sweet tart dough preparation in the food processor
  • Add the egg and the water, 1 tablespoon at a time and pulse/mix.
    Sweet tart dough preparation in the food processor
  • The dough will be ready when small clumps start to form.
    Sweet tart dough preparation in the food processor
  • Remove the dough from the food processor and knead it gently. Mold the dough into a flattened thick disc, and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
  • On a floured sheet of wax paper, roll out the dough into a thin sheet that is a couple inches larger than the tart pan you plan to use – it’s okay if it extends beyond the edges of sheet of wax paper.
    Rolling out sweet tart dough with a rolling pin on a wood table
  • Carefully flip the wax paper and the sheet of rolled pastry dough on to a lightly greased tart pan. Gently press the dough with your fingers onto the mold, start at the center and move outward. Use a rolling pin to roll over the edges and remove any excess dough from the edges. If you want, you can leave a ½ – 1 inch to wrap around the edges of the pan – this will help prevent the crust from shrinking down.
  • Prick the tart shell with a fork and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or until ready to use.
    Unbaked sweet tart dough in a tart pan

To assemble and bake the babaco tart:

  • Pre-heat the oven to 400F (200 C).
  • Arrange the drained chunks of sweet babaco preserves on the tart shell, I usually start from the outside edges and place them in a circular form.
    Babaco tart before going in the oven
  • Bake the tart for about 35-40 minutes at 400 F (200 C) or until the crust is golden.
    Overhead shot of babaco pie on a light wooden background
  • Serve alone, or with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
    Babaco tart on a wooden background with three slices off the side.

Notes

*** If you don’t live in Ecuador and can’t find fresh babaco, you might be able to find canned babaco, in that case use 2 jars (500 grams each jar) for this recipe. I found it on Amazon under the name of mountain papaya.
Two jars of babaco mountain papaya on a wooden background.