Earlier this year we mentioned that pumpkins have become one of our favourite vegetables to grow, and we’ve been enjoying making and eating pumpkin pie. Since our post in January, we’ve received a few emails about how we make our pumpkin pie and we’ve decided to share our pumpkin pie recipe.
Before we get started, what we really like about this pie is that it is actually quite healthy because pumpkin contains copper, iron, magnesium, vitamins C, B6, E and K, riboflavin and potassium. It is also very rich in beta carotene that your body transforms into vitamin A, and it helps your heart, lungs and kidneys stay healthy.
You can also make this pie healthier by reducing the amount of sugar. I’ve seen recipes online for 2-3 times the amount of sugar and we’ve reduced ours significantly. While the sweetness helps, the real flavour comes from the pumpkin, nutmeg and cinnamon. We actually put a lot of nutmeg into our pie (½ a nutmeg seed) because we like the flavour and it works very well. We also use oat milk instead of dairy because it is creamy and smooth, with a slightly sweet flavour that works extremely well with the pumpkin, nutmeg and cinnamon.
It’s all about experimenting and balancing the amount of sugar, nutmeg and cinnamon that appeals to your taste buds – for us, nutmeg, cinnamon and pumpkin are a marriage made in heaven.
Ingredients
- 750g of peeled and deseeded pumpkin, cut into chunks (a small-medium pumpkin)
- 100g sugar (granulated or castor, your call)
- 170ml oat milk
- 2 eggs
- pinch of salt
- ½ nutmeg seed (grated into a fine powder)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 350g shortcrust pastry (purchased or your own)
- plain flour, for dusting
The process
Put the pumpkin chunks in a large saucepan. Half cover with filtered water and bring to the boil. Leave the lid on so that it steams, and simmer for 15-20 minutes until it’s tender and soft, but not falling apart and mushy. Drain and let it cool.
Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan or gas 4. Roll out the shortcrust pastry on a lightly floured surface. Use it to line a 22-24cm loose-bottom tart tin. Line the pastry with baking paper/parchment, add baking beans or rice and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven. Take out the beans and parchment paper and let it cook for another 5-10 minutes until the base is gold in colour. Remove when done.
While the pastry is doing its thing, mash the pumpkin in the pot with a potato masher unit there are no lumpy bits. It should resemble a puree when you’re done.
In a different bowl, combine the sugar and salt, and mix in the eggs, one at a time, until fully incorporated. Add the nutmeg, cinnamon, melted butter and oat milk, and continue to mix until you have a lovely smooth mixture. Add the pumpkin puree to the mixture and stir to combine thoroughly. You’ll notice that the mixture is quite loose and runny. Give it a taste, because it’s very delicious. If you want to add more spice, this is the time to do it.
Crank up the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Pour the mixture into the tart shell. Put it into the oven and cook for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, turn the heat down to 170C/150C fan/gas 3 or 4. Continue to bake for 40-45 minutes until the filling has set, but still has a little bit of jiggle.
Please use the oven timings as a guide only. All ovens are different, so keep an eye on your pie and adjust the heat levels accordingly.
Remove from oven and leave to cool. Remove the pie from the tin. Decorate if you want to (maybe with some icing sugar), but I think it looks great the way it is.
Store in the fridge, and serve chilled with a dollop of creme fraiche or your favourite cream.