I wasn’t sure what to expect when attempting a pumpkin pie recipe for the first time, as I didn’t grow up with it and no one in my life has ever made it. Its a bit of a revelation to me now! This is a smooth, rich, creamy, desert packed with flavour.
Pumpkin Pie is an American classic. Something you see on American TV being made and celebrated at every Thanksgiving. Is it worth a try? Lets see…
Now, first…the pumpkin.
You want to get a small, sweet cooking pumpkin to make your pumpkin pie. Unfortunately its not a case of carving your Halloween pumpkin and then using it to make the pie. Besides from the fact it will have almost melted in the cold weather and rain, those larger carving pumpkins are too flavorless and watery – they are ideal for carving but useless for cooking. You want a nice small, sweet variety, fairly easy to pick up at most supermarkets these days. Now to make the pumpkin puree…
How to make your pumpkin puree?
Im not sure Iv ever seen pumpkin puree in a supermarket. It must be out there somewhere! In that case, through my trial and experimentation for this recipe I only used my own pumpkin puree. Its very easy to make. Next year I will try and get some canned and see if its much different. It will defiately be easier!
To make your pumpkin puree you can cook it however you feel is easiest or your preferred method. You can boil, steam or bake your pumpkin. I chose to bake it because in my mind the sugars would caramelize a little bit more imparting more flavour.
To steam or boil, you will need to peel, deseed and cut the pumpkin into 2.5cm chunks and then steam for around 45 minutes or boil for 15 minutes until tender.
To roast your pumpkin you can bake your 2.5cm chunks in a tray in the oven covered in foil for 20-30 minutes or do what I did and simply cut the pumpkin in half, deseed, and then scrape out the flesh once cooked – around 30-40 minutes at 170 seemed to do the trick.
I did push my pumpkin flesh through a fine mesh sieve after roasting it. Quite a laborious and time consuming job but the pie was very smooth as a result. I think if you pushed it though a coarse sieve and then pureed it in a blender it would turn out much the same with much less work.
Your pastry…
If Iv updated this blog post there will be a link to my pastry recipe here, but if I haven’t…there wont. You want a good, crumbly short crust pastry. I made a sweet short crust pastry because during my research, that is what most people used. You can ofcourse use a shop brought short crust…especially if you want a quick desert which you want to get into the oven.
…
Ingredients…
- 450g prepared pumpkin puree (see above how to make)
- Homemade shortcrust pastry or shop brought alternative…
- 250ml double cream
- 50ml milk
- 100g light brown sugar
- 100g maple syrup
- 1tsp cinnamon
- 1/4tsp ginger
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp allspice
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 2 large eggs
…
Method…
- make you pumpkin puree…
- to blind bake your pastry case roll out your pastry and use it to line a 22cm tart tin. You will want to line the pastry with baking paper, fill with baking beans and bake for 15 minutes at 180c/160 fan/gas4. After 15 minutes, remove the baking beans and paper and pop back in the oven for 10 minutes until golden.
- Add the cream and milk to a pan on a very low heat and then add your sugar, maple syrup and all of your spices. You just want to warm the milk through to dissolve the sugar. Then remove from the heat.
- Whisk in your pumpkin puree and eggs in a separate bowl and slowly whisk in your cream mixture until fully combined.
- Pour your creamy pumpkin mixture into your pastry case and bake for 35 to 40 mins at 180C/160 fan/gas 4.
- Serve with a dusting of icing sugar, a blob of thick cream, a dusting of cinnamon or all the above…
Enjoy…
