Dessert Pumpkin Pie...Mmmmmmmmmm..........

" 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 !

                                           Dessert Pumpkin Pie

                          A-slice-of-the-pie!

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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‘COOKINGWITHMAVIS’