Spice it up

Not just for Thanksgiving – spicy traditional American pumpkin pie adds something extra to the autumn table. By Will Geisler. Photo by Sam Cameron.

Spiced Pumpkin Pie is an American tradition, most often served at Thanksgiving, but often at Christmas as well.  In the States, pumpkin puree is available in tins in the supermarket, and the pie recipes have evolved to incorporate essentially one tin of pumpkin and one tin of evaporated milk, and often baked in a pre-made pie crust, already pressed into a disposable pie tin.  No matter what the source of the ingredients, the real joy of this pie is the interplay between the pumpkin, the creamy silkiness of the milk, and the spices added.  (This is what brought about the “pumpkin spice” phenomenon that takes over food emporiums and even scented candle shops in the USA every autumn.) In the recipe below, I’ve included how I make the pumpkin puree for the pie which is actually very easy. 

 Ingredients 
One 9 inch / 23 cm pie tin, lined with sweet shortcrust pastry. No need to pre-bake.
425g pumpkin puree                
¾ cup caster sugar                     
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp salt                                  
½ tsp ground ginger 
 ¼ ground cloves 
2 eggs                                      
375 ml (one can) evaporated milk

 Make the pumpkin puree
I use a quarter pumpkin from the supermarket, weighing anything over about 650g.  Cut off the peel, remove the seeds and cut into chunks.  Put into a pot and just cover with water.  Cook over medium-high heat until the water comes to a boil.  Boil for about 5 minutes or so, until the pumpkin is soft enough mash with a fork. Drain out all the water, then use a stick blender, or a stand blender, or even a potato masher, to blend until fairly smooth.  Once it’s smooth, measure out the 425g (about 1 2/3 cups) and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 200 /180 fan bake.

Mix the sugar and spices in a large bowl with a whisk. Add the eggs and whisk until smooth and creamy.  Whisk in the pumpkin, then whisk the evaporated milk in slowly.  The result will be very liquid, and that’s fine.  Pour the liquid into the pie shell – it should fill up the shell to just below the top. 

Put the pie into the oven and bake for 15 minutes.  Reduce the temperature to 180 (160 for fan bake) and continue baking for 40 minutes.  The pie is done when a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. 

Take the pie out of the oven and let cool on a wire rack for about 2 hours, then chill.  This pie is delicious served cold with a bit of whipped cream!