Pumpkin Pie

Halloween is approaching, and one of John Mark's favorite desserts is pumpkin pie.  Recently, we traveled to Macau and picked up some cream, a precious, almost unheard-of ingredient in China.  This purchase called for pumpkin pie.  I made the crust with a small amount of butter because butter is so expensive in China.  I used a Chinese pumpkin, which seems to be a little bit sweeter than the traditional American pie pumpkin.  Therefore, I was able to use less sugar in my recipe.  If you are using an American pie pumpkin, you might need to use more sugar in your filling.

Crust

Ingredients

• 3/4 c whole wheat flour
• 2/3 c all-purpose flour
• 2 T butter
• 2 T vegetable oil
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/2 t sugar
• 1/2 c ice water

Recipe

• Combine all-purpose and whole wheat flour.  Place in freezer.
• In a separate bowl, freeze vegetable oil.
• Keep in freezer for at least one hour.
• After one hour, remove flour and combine dry ingredients.  
• Add butter and oil to flour mixture and mix with pastry blender until mixture is crumbly.
• Add 1/3 cup ice water combine.  Continue to add water 1 T at a time until mixture is no longer dry.
• Place in saran wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make your pie filling.  After the pie filling is finished, remove the pie crust and roll out your pie crust.  Be sure to flour your cooking surface.  Roll out pie crust, place into pie pan, and form pie crust.  There is no need to pre-bake the pie crust.

Pumpkin Pie Filling

Ingredients

• ~3 lb pie pumpkin (~2 cups roasted), roasted
• 1/2 c brown sugar
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/8 t nutmeg
• 1/8 t allspice
• 1 t cinnamon
• 1 t grated ginger
• 1 c cream
• 1/2 c milk
• 3 eggs

Recipe

• Sprinkle pumpkin with cinnamon and nutmeg.  Place pumpkin cut-side down on foil-lined oven sheet.  Cook for 45-60 minutes at 190°C (~400°F) until tender.  After fork-tender, remove flesh from skin and place in measuring cup. I had slightly more than 2 cups pumpkin puree.
• Mix spices, salt, and sugar. Beat in eggs.
• Stir in pumpkin puree.
• Stir in cream and milk.
• Whisk until incorporated.
• Pour into pie crust.
• Bake at 190°C (400°F) for about 30-40 minutes, until thickened.
• Remove from oven, cool, and enjoy.  Top with whipped cream if you are lucky enough to have access to whipping cream.