This is our favourite pumpkin pie recipe. You can use pumpkins or butternut squash instead. It makes a delicious and comforting autumnal dessert.
You will need:
9 or 10 inch Pie or Flan Dish
Cookie cutters - a few different leaf shapes
Baking beans / lentils
Baking paper
Ingredients:
For the sweet pastry:
400g of plain white flour
80g caster sugar
1/2 tsp salt
230g unsalted butter
2 large eggs - beaten
1 egg (for the egg wash)
For the pie filling:
750g pumpkin or butternut squash - peeled and cut into small chunks
140g dark muscovado sugar
1/2tsp of salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 - 1 tsp fresh grated nutmeg (or 1 tsp ground)
2 eggs beaten
25g melted butter
100ml milk
75ml double cream
Start by making your pastry. Beat the butter and sugar together until fluffy. Slowly add the 2 eggs, then add the flour and salt, and mix until a ball is formed. Don’t over mix otherwise the pastry will become hard when baked.
Flatten into a fat disc and then chill in the fridge for at least an hour to firm up.
Pre-heat your oven to 180°C. Roll out half of the dough, on a generous dusting of flour, to a thickness of about 5mm and use a rolling pin to transfer the pastry into your pie dish. If the pastry breaks up, you can just patch it up by pressing pieces of pastry with your finger tips into the dish. Try to handle it as little as possible.
Lay a piece of baking paper over the pastry shell, then fill it with baking beans or lentils (this helps it keep its shape) then bake for 15 minutes at 180°C, beat one egg for your egg wash. Remove the dish from the oven, take out the baking beans and paper, then reduce the oven temperature down to 160°C. Brush your pastry with the egg wash, make sure to leave some for later. Bake for a further 5 minutes. Leave the pastry shell to cool.
Roll out the other half of your dough (to about 5mm thick) and use the leaf cutters to cut some pastry leaves. (Use a knife and freehand if you don’t have cutters). Use a knife to create the indents of the veins. Put aside some of the leaves to go around the edges of the pie crust (about 15). Bake the rest of the leaves in the same was as you baked the shell above, including the egg wash. Bake until they start to turn brown. Allow the leaves to cool.
For the filling:
Increase the oven’s temperature back to 180°C. Meanwhile, cook the pumpkin or squash for about 20 mins in boiling water until very tender. Drain well and then allow to cool, then puree well until smooth. In a bowl mix together the dark muscovado sugar, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add in the beaten eggs, melted butter, milk and cream. Then add the pumpkin puree and combine well.
Pour the mixture into the pie shell until it nearly reaches the top (you may end up with some left over).
Brush the rim of the shell with some of your egg wash once more. Then lay the reserved uncooked pastry leaves around the edge. Brush the leaves with the rest of the egg wash. Bake the pie at 180°C for 10 mins, then drop the temperature to 140°C and bake for a further 40-45 minutes until the filling has just set. Leave to cool and then decorate with the cooked pastry leaves.
Serve chilled with whipped cream.