I don’t know that I’d ever tried pumpkin pie before celebrating Thanksgiving in Pennsylvania, as an exchange student. Loved it!
We grow pumpkin each year, and often end up with a surplus, so recipes like this that call for at least 2 cups of pumpkin puree, are a wonderful way to put some of the harvest to good (and tasty) use.
Though most recipes call for a sweet crust, I don’t think it needs it…the filling is sweet enough.
Makes enough pie to fill a 12″ pie dish and often a little extra for a ramekin.
Heat your oven to 180 C (Fan-forced) and then…
For the crust I use:
2 cups organic bread flour
125g organic butter
a sprinkle of salt
Approx 120ml water
*optional 1tsp pumpkin pie spice
The food processor is the quickest way to blend this, but it can be done by hand if desired. In your food processor, blend the flour, butter and salt until it looks like a fine crumb.
Then add your water slowly, while the processor runs, until you get a nice ball of dough that holds together.
This can be refrigerated for half an hour if you need to firm it up, but I roll it out right away, using a dusting of extra flour to prevent it sticking to either the rolling pin or the pastry cloth.
You can roll the pastry onto the rolling pin for an easier way to transfer it to your dish without it tearing.
Bake the crust for 10 minutes, and then remove from the oven.
Filling:
2 cups pumkin puree
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups cream (or coconut cream if desired)
150g coconut sugar (or brown sugar)
1Tbsp pumpkin pie spice blend
I blend all these filling ingredients together in the food processor, and then pour into the baked pie crust. The filling will be runny at this stage, but will set as it bakes. Carefully place your filled pie back in the oven, and bake for 30-40 minutes. I start with 30 minutes, then open the oven door and give the dish a jiggle. You will be able to tell if the pie is set by watching the centre of the pie to see if it wobbles loosely, or looks set. Once set, remove from the oven and allow to cool.
The pie can be eaten warm, or chilled. Store in the fridge.