" COOKINGWITHMAVIS " #11 "Dessert Pumpkin Pie"
Pumpkin Pie is seldom found on a South African dessert menu …and what a surprise once our reticent guests sample a sinfully splendiferous mouthful of this delectable dessert!
At first they politely accept “ a sliver just please” …and before “…‘Mavis” can blink , that arm is outstretched - they proffer that plate for another generous piece !
It is one of ‘COOKINGWITHMAVIS’ s ancient , “special” recipes, saved from Mom’s “somewhere” ....many, many, many moons ago!
As Halloween is just around the corner, ( 31 October for you who might not know) and pumpkin being synonymous with Halloween, why not ‘go-the-whole-hog’ ? …Yes! Be daring, and try something COMPLETELY different…and let those tastebuds do a tizz…Mmmm…….not to mention the velvety texture on the tongue!
A-an-and …
Aromas and flavours “to Die-for Doll "!
Yes! Go- on! …it’s SOH-HH worth the effort !
This past week , in anticipation of my loading “Dessert Pumpkin Pie”, in my mind I visualize a plump orange pumpkin , that I’d buy at Fruit-and-Veg City… or BloodyPack’nPiyClaremont supermarket…
to sculpt into a masterful Halloween icon…but c-c-can you believe it!...the most IMPOSSIBLE quest, in the affluent Southern Suburbs of Cape Town, to find a whole orange pumpkin….and short of embarking on a Quixotic escapade …I began to telephone a dozen stores….I even had the foresight to call Fish4Africa in Victoria Rd, Woodstock, knowing to ask there, the name of their neighbouring wholesale Fruiterer :”Mulberry” Farm Fresh , so I was told?!…and ‘google’ such I did!…the ONLY “Mulberry Farm-‘Whatever’…” was in USA!...CERTAINLY not in Cape Town, South Africa!............ so another call to same fish shop, gives me that telephone number - at least, to have a cheerful voice answer: “MOWBRAY “ FARM FRESH ‘helloooooo’….
But alas, in Cape Town in October, no orange –skinned pumpkin for me!
And so to recipes…..
DESSERT PUMPKIN PIE…
PASTRY INGREDIENTS:
175 g flour (1 standard cup)
100g margarine from a block (..not spreading marge!)… or butter is nicer!
1 tablespoon castor sugar
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons iced water
PIE BUTTER COATING:
4 Tablespoons butter at room temperature (easier to mix when soft)
100g soft dark brown sugar
100g hazel nuts finely chopped
PIE FILLING:
250ml (1 cup) cooked pumpkin purée
1 tablespoon flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
Another 100g dark brown sugar
250 ml cream
2 eggs
As ‘a-shortcut-slightly-spoilt-and-uncomplicated’ cook, I am fortunate to use ALWAYS my Magimix food processor and blitz the pastry ingredients into a pastry ball!...…but you could well use the tips of your fingers to mix and bring this dough together by hand…..
I make sure first that my “mise en place” (pronounced “ miz ɑ̃ plas “ ), is done! - it’s a French phrase - literally means: "putting in place" - ….I suppose it’s the ‘pre-preparation’
All ingredients measured and in little bowls, spread out in front of me, on my counter tops, everything ready to use!
METHOD:
PASTRY:
1) Rub butter/ or marge into the flour
2) Stir in the castor sugar and egg yolk
3) Add the 2 tablespoons iced water and mix pastry into a ball
4) With the palm of your hand quickly flatten just a little into a flat round, and wrap in clingfilm and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
5) Then on a clean work surface, sprinkle a little flour, and with a rolling pin, roll out to be large enough to line a 22cm – 23 cm pie dish / tart baking pan.( I use a loose-bottomed metal quiche pan)
6) ‘Bake blind’ at 220 degrees C (hot) for 12 – 15 minutes
(“baking blind” means covering the pastry with baking paper …or even foil, weighting this down with about 1½ cups of raw dried beans… before putting it into the oven and you prick a few times through the paper for air to escape while baking )
7) Remove from oven, remove beans and baking paper, and let cool for 30 minutes.
BUTTER COATING:
1) Cream together the softened butter and just 100g of the dark brown sugar, then add the chopped hazel nuts and mix well.
2) Spread this ‘paste’ onto the cooled pre-baked pie crust, trying to have it also up the sides of the pastry shell if possible.
PUMPKIN FILLING:
1) Combine the cold cooked pumpkin purée with the remaining 100g dark brown sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves
2) Beat the 2 eggs with the cream, and combine with the pumpkin mixture.
3) Pour gently onto the butter coating into the pie shell.
4) Bake at 200 degrees C for 30 - 40 minutes, until set.
5) Remove from oven and cool
6) Chill for at least a few hours / overnight.
7) Serve with whipped cream or even a thin vanilla custard! (Lazy ‘locals’ can find the Ultramel readymade custard at local supermarkets)
Note: just in case this spills over into the oven, ‘COOKINGWITHMAVIS’ always places the pie pan onto a thin baking sheet when baking.
MMMmmmmmmmmm! Enjoy….I KNOW you will !
To view ‘COOKINGWITHMAVIS’s previous blogs, just scroll up to the top right, and click on any month to see….”Crisp Creamcheese”, “ ‘Mavis’s Breasts”, “ To Eat ..and Artichokes”, “Jewish Chicken Soup”……“Preserved Goose” and more!
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