Cook: Tis the season…for Pumpkin Pie. Gluten and Dairy Free of course

This delicious Pumpkin Pie is my own twist on classic American Halloween / Harvest fare.

 

Why start with a dish so entirely comprised of a flavoursome, sweet, nutty, nutrition packed vegetable – and turn it unhealthy?? Only in America…

I made a few of these, to use up all the pumpkin I baked and mashed. I’ve shared it with teachers and parents at school, as well as keeping one in the home fridge for as long as I possibly could. It lasted a day.

In Good Things In England, a Sussex Recipe from Mrs. Creasey, Coolham, near Horsham is quite an unusual take on the American inspired Pumpkin Pie we imagine today.

Mrs Creasey’s pie ingredients are: Ripe pumpkin or marrow ½lb; apple ½lb; currants ½lb; mixed peel 2oz; sugar 3oz; a little spice (if liked); Enough good short pastry to cover (½lb flour; 3 or 4 oz lard and butter mixed or clarified dripping; ¼tsp salt; about 1 gill of water to mix).

Mrs Creasey puts her ingredients into a pie dish and the pastry on top. She adds ‘This may also be made in a pie plate sheeted first with pastry. No water is required, but the pumpkin and apple must be chopped very finely.’ Hers sounds delicious, spicy and textural.

Reading about custard tarts for an upcoming post, I found that these desserts are very traditional in both England and France. The pumpkin pie I make here, unlike Mrs. Creasey’s, has a custard base, in that I cook the almond milk with egg yolks until its a deliciously unctuous texture, before combining with the pumpkin.

I’ve used the puréed pumpkin associated more with the modern American classic, which is perfectly seasonal right now. To make it even more of the moment, my base uses the crumbs from the bottom of the Parkins biscuit tin! Waste not, want not! If you haven’t made the Parkins, get to it!. If you don’t have time, fear not, I’ll suggest some alternatives, or you can just skip that ingredient, but don’t leave out some ground ginger.

The inspiration for this (now quite different) recipe, came from The Golden Chalice Cookbook

I love the idea of sweet things and I am constantly tempted to make and eat them.

BUT I am always disappointed when I BUY sweet treats, as I find them always too sweet.

I don’t have much sweetness added to this recipe (pumpkin is naturally sweet enough for me), but if you prefer it sweeter, you could double or even triple the amount of xylitol or honey in the Filling.

Cinnamon Pumpkin Pie with Parkin Granola Crust

Preparation Time – 30 minutes

Cooking Time – 25 minutes

Ingredients

The Pastry Crust

• 3 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 tbsp of xylitol (or manuka honey)
• 2 tbsp crumbled gf Parkin or gluten free granola or toasted gluten free oats or crushed toasted pumpkin seeds
• (if you don’t have Parkin crumbs, also add 1 tsp ground ginger)
• 1 cup almond flour (or chickpea flour if you prefer nut free)
• ⅓ cup of buckwheat flour
• 1 tsp grey sea salt

The Filling

• 300g or around 2 cups of pumpkin puree (make your own or buy an organic jar without preservatives from your health food supermarket)
• 200ml almond or rice milk
• 1 tbsp xylitol or manuka honey
• 1 tsp stevia
• 1 heaped tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• ½ vanilla pod
• 3 eggs, separated

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 150°

To make the pastry case 

1. place the coconut oil and xylitol in the pie dish and place in the oven for 2 minutes to melt and heat a little.
2. When you remove it, immediately mix in the flours, Parkin crumbs and salt (and the honey at this stage if using honey). Combine it all really well, til its homogenous and gathers into a lump.
3. Then press it down into the pie dish using the back of a spoon, until it completely covers the base and rises up the sides of the dish.
4. Pop it in the fridge for 10 minutes while you prepare the filling.

To make the filling 

1. Pour the pumpkin puree into your mixing bowl.
2. Separate the eggs and whisk the egg whites into the pumpkin puree.
3. In a saucepan over medium heat, stir the almond milk, xylitol (or honey), cinnamon and nutmeg. Scrape the vanilla seeds from the pod into the milk, then through in the pod too.
4. Once the mixture is hot but not quite boiling, turn down to a low heat and allow the flavours to infuse for 2-3 minutes.
5. Squeeze the vanilla pod to eek out all the flavour and remaining seeds, then discard.
6. Add a couple of tbsp of the milk mixture to the egg yolks and mix quickly. Then pour this egg yolk mix slowly into the saucepan, whisking constantly. This should thicken quickly into a viscous custard.
7. Whisk for a minute or two on a very low heat (or even remove from the heat).
8. Take the pie crust from the fridge and place it straight into the oven to cook by itself for 10 mins.
9. Add the custard mix to the pumpkin puree mix and combine well.
10. Add the Filling into the pastry crust
11. Turn up your oven to 180 °.
12. Bake for 15 minutes.

This will be perfectly well cooked and you don’t want it to over cook. It will set once cool.

Just try to resist having a slice straight away!!!! Not easy.

Great for a healthy afternoon tea treat for the children or a wonderful, warming, autumn dessert around a lively familial table.

Really, this is so harmless, you can even have the leftovers for breakfast. If there are any.

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