pie love you

i just took this out of the oven. it's one of my favorite things to bake, and while i rarely post food shots cos i'm not very good at them, i couldn't not post this.

 

here's the recipe, from the settlement cookbook.

 

2/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/2 teaspoon cloves

1 1/2 cups canned or cooked/pureed pumpkin*

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

grated lemon rind (optional)

1/2 cup milk

1/ cup half-and-half

1 beaten egg white, for brushing (we don't bother)

1 9-inch pie shell, unbaked**

 

preheat oven to 425F. mix sugar, salt, and spices; add pumpkin, lightly beaten eggs, vanilla, and lemon rind, if desired. add the milk and half-and-half gradually (sometimes we just do half-and-half). if pumpkin is very moist, use less liquid. brush shell with egg white. add the filling, and bake for 20 minutes. reduce heat to 275F and bake 40 minutes longer or until knife inserted near edge of custard comes out clean. cool at room temperature.

 

*get a small sugar pumpkin, slice it in half, and scoop out the seeds. bake it at 350F for an hour, or until the meat comes off easily with a spoon. i sometimes put in a pat of butter and some brown sugar into the well of each half, cos i'm crazy like that. when it's done, i just scoop the meat into a measuring cup and mash it with a fork; i don't bother with a blender. this way some of the stringy texture remains in the pie custard. sort of like chunky mashed potatoes as opposed to smooth.

 

**i made a gingerbread crust, with 1 1/4 cups gingerbread crumbs, 1/4 cup sugar, and 5 tablespoons of melted butter. i stuck it in the oven while it was heating up for the pie, for about five minutes, to toast the crust.

 

 

 

 

Done