My daughter wants to make pumpkin pie and I'd like to indulge her. Which means I need help. Lots of help.
Thanks.
Thanks.
A decent pie crust from scratch takes some practice to get right, I'd start with a pre-made one from the grocery store to make it easy on yourself. You can use canned pumpkin and the recipe on the can, or you can start with a pie pumpkin - easier to do than it sounds! They sell small sweet pumpkins now specifically for pies, with a dense flesh. I find that the best way to get a concentrated flavor is to cut one in half, scoop out the seeds and place the two halves, cut sides down, on a lightly oiled sheet of aluminum foil on a cookie sheet. Bake them in the oven at 375 degrees until you can easily pierce them with a knife. Take them out and cool them enough to handle, then peel off the skin and throw them into a food processor and blend them smooth. You only need 2 cups of the pumpkin puree for one pie, the rest can be measured into 2 cup portions and frozen for later.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Beat 3 eggs well and then add 2 cups of the pumpkin, a cup of brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 tsp. ginger, 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1/4 tsp. cloves, 1/2 tsp. nutmeg (or whatever combination of spices you like), and from 1 to 1 1/2 cups of evaporated milk or "half and half" coffee cream. Pour the filling into the pie shell and bake it for 15 minutes then turn down the heat to 325 and bake it another 30 minutes or the filling is "set". You can test it with a knife blade: slip the knife into the pie about halfway to the center - if it comes out clean, you can take the pie out of the oven (it will continue to firm up as it cools). If it comes out coated with filling, leave it in another five minutes and test again.
My daughter wants to make pumpkin pie and I'd like to indulge her. Which means I need help. Lots of help.
Thanks.
Fresh pumpkin makes wonderful pie, but the trick is to bake it rather than boil it...you want to drain off as much liquid as possible, not add more. And get a "pie pumpkin" variety rather than one grown for use as a Halloween decoration.