Making of: Pumpkin Pie

I went through my local grocery store and there it was: a rather big hokkaido pumpkin. I simply HAD to bake a cake :)

The recipe is taken from The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook, just in case you wonder why I start using cups and spoons instead of grams.

What you need is:

For the shell:
1 1/4 all-purpose flour
2 tbsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 stick cold butter (about 120 g, I usually use half a package, meaning 125 g)
4-6 tbsp. cold water

For the filling:
2 cups mashed pumpkin
1 cup sugar
1 cup heavy cream (I used single cream)
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1/8 tsp. ground allspice
1/4 tsp. salt
3 large eggs

Mix all the dry ingredients for the shell. Then scatter the butter and 4 tbsp. water over the mixture and mix again until well combined. If the dough is too dry, add more water by the tbsp. Form the dough into a disk, wrap in cling foil and put it into the fridge for about 1 hour.

Then, preheat the oven to 200°C, roll the disk out into a circle of about 32 cm and fill it into a 26 cm tart pan. Line the pan with baking parchment and baking weights. Bake for about 25 minutes, then remove the baking weights and bake for another 10 minutes. 

Meanwhile, prepare the filling. If you use canned pumpkin (no pumpkin pie filling) it is time enough to prepare the filling now. I used fresh pumpkin instead. You have to cut it in half and put both halves onto a lined baking tray and bake on  175°C for about half an hour, until it is soft. Then, scoop out the seeds and scoop out the flesh. Puree the flesh or press it through a sieve and then proceed as with the canned pumpkin.

Combine the mashed pumpkin, sugar, cream, spices and salt in a pot and cook until hot, but not boiling. Slowly whisk in the eggs one by one and heat again, stirring constantly. Do not cook the mixture! 

Pour the filling into the crust and bake for about 30 minutes, or until it does not look wet anymore. The pie might be jiggly when you take it out of the oven, but it will set when cooled down. 

The pumpkin I used made about 2 3/4 cups of mashed pumpkin, so it was too much for one pie, so I rolled the dough out thinner and thus had enough for 3 muffin-sized pumpkins :)