I've never had pumpkin pie. Until recently I didn't think many people in Australia had. Turns out there are a few people around, which is great because I needed someone to confirm that yes, the strange concoction I made is actually what it's supposed to be like. A colleague put it as "It's spicy not sweet, the way gingerbread is spicy but not sweet." And with ground cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg, I guess you can't expect much different.
I'm not particularly good at making pastry. I used the shortcrust recipe in Cook's Companion however I used a food processor instead of benchtop. I just don't have the space in my kitchen. First time round (I made the pie twice 'cause I had so much pumpkin mixture) the pastry wasn't particularly good. Second time I invested in some actual baking weights (instead of rice) and was much more successful.
I think it's best to eat the pie warm, and as fresh as possible. You really can't taste the pumpkin, it's all about the spices. However the longer you leave it, the stranger the filling texture becomes. Guinea pigs praised the pie. I, as always am a little more critical of my cooking. Anyways, it's worth giving a go, at least once.
Pumpkin Pie (from Cooks Companion)
1 kg pumpkin (jap or gramma), peeled
Zest and juice of 2 lemons
1 knob butter
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 egg yolk
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 tsp ground cloves
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup currants
1 knob butter
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 egg yolk
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 tsp ground cloves
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup currants
Steam pumpkin then mash.
Line an 18 cm pie plate or loose bottomed flan tin with pastry and bake blind at 200 degrees for 20 min. Remove and increase oven tempeture to 220 degrees.
Mix pumpkin with remaining ingredients, then pour into prepared pastry case and smooth top. Bake for 10 min, then reduce heat to 180 and bake for a further 10-15 min.
Note: The recipe says 18 cm tin. I have a much larger tin so I made 1 1/2 times the pumpkin mixture. This isn't really necessary as I had more than one extra pie's worth of filling leftover.
5 comments:
Mmmmm...yumm...I've only ever eaten this in the US. looks great Ali. Hmmm..I'm thinking of investing in pastry weights as well.
fantastic as always.
Thanks Peter, you should buy pastry weights, they're great. They always seemed so unnecessary to me but are actually so much easier to use than rice/beans and create a better result.
Yummo - I absolutely adore pumpkin pie. It is an interesting texture, and I actually don't mind them cold. But yes, warm out of the oven is always best.
Gramma Pie is a traditonal dessert from my fathers mother. It is a much loved dessert around our place, though the gramma pumkim is difficult to come by these days. Best eatin cold the day after. Anyone know of where I can get any gramma "Seeds"? Go Gramma Pie YUMMMMMMMMM
email - ain5ie@bigpond.net.au
pumpkin pie is sooo much better cold the day after you make it! that's the way pumpkin pie is supposed to be! if i was in the US i'd serve it with a big dollop of 'cool whip' but since i'm stuck down under for thanksgiving i'll just use vanilla ice cream.. mmmm!
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