Pumpkin pie
Pumpkin pie is not a cake but a baked custard on a shortcrust base. Two things are therefore critical: blind baking the base so it does not go soggy, and pulling the pie out while the centre still wobbles — it finishes setting as it cools.
Your own work in that: 0 min.
- Shortcrust pastry 15 min
- Chilling 60 min
- Blind baking 20 min
- Baking the filling 50 min
- Cooling 120 min
Step by step
0 / 7 doneMake the shortcrust
Cut the cold butter into the flour, sugar and salt until you have pea-sized lumps. Add the ice water and bring the dough together without kneading — visible butter pieces are an advantage here, they become layers.
Ingredients: 250 g plain flour · 140 g butter · 30 g sugar · ½ tsp salt · 60 ml water
Butter pieces in the dough are future flakiness.Chill and line the tin
Flatten the dough into a disc, wrap and chill for an hour. Roll to 4 mm, line a 24 cm tin with sides at least 3 cm high, press the edges in and prick the base with a fork. Freeze for another 15 minutes.
Ingredients: 250 g plain flour · 140 g butter · 30 g sugar · ½ tsp salt · 60 ml water
TipA frozen shell does not slump down the sides of the tin while baking.
Blind bake the base
Line the shell with paper and fill with baking beans. Bake at 190°C for 15 minutes, remove the beans and bake 5 minutes more until the base is dry and lightly golden.
Ingredients: 250 g plain flour · 140 g butter · 30 g sugar · ½ tsp salt · 60 ml water
TipWithout blind baking the wet filling turns the base into a soggy sole.
Beans keep the base flat and stop it bubbling up.Make the pumpkin purée
Roast the pumpkin in chunks at 200°C for 40 minutes, scoop out the flesh and blend. Drain the purée in a sieve if it is watery — excess water stops the filling setting. You can roast the pumpkin while the pastry chills.
Ingredients: 700 g pumpkin · 350 g sweetened condensed milk · 3 pcs eggs · 60 g brown sugar · 2 tsp cinnamon · 1 tsp ground ginger · ½ tsp nutmeg · ¼ tsp ground cloves · ½ tsp salt
Tip700 g of raw pumpkin gives about 450 g of finished purée.
Mix the filling
Whisk the purée with the condensed milk, eggs, brown sugar and all the spices. Whisk without aerating — air bubbles burst in the oven and leave craters.
Ingredients: 700 g pumpkin · 350 g sweetened condensed milk · 3 pcs eggs · 60 g brown sugar · 2 tsp cinnamon · 1 tsp ground ginger · ½ tsp nutmeg · ¼ tsp ground cloves · ½ tsp salt
A smooth, glossy mixture with no bubbles.Bake until the centre wobbles
Pour the filling into the baked shell, no higher than 3–4 mm below the pastry rim (bake any extra in a ramekin), and bake at 170°C for 45–50 minutes. It is done when the edges are set and a 5 cm circle in the middle still trembles gently when you shake the tin.
Ingredients: 700 g pumpkin · 350 g sweetened condensed milk · 3 pcs eggs · 60 g brown sugar · 2 tsp cinnamon · 1 tsp ground ginger · ½ tsp nutmeg · ¼ tsp ground cloves · ½ tsp salt
TipOverbaked filling cracks down the middle. Better a minute early.
Cool for two hours
Leave the pie on a rack for 2 hours. The filling finishes setting as it cools — cutting it warm gives a spreading mess instead of clean slices.
Ingredients: 700 g pumpkin · 350 g sweetened condensed milk · 3 pcs eggs · 60 g brown sugar · 2 tsp cinnamon · 1 tsp ground ginger · ½ tsp nutmeg · ¼ tsp ground cloves · ½ tsp salt
Before you start
Canned pumpkin
Canned purée (not pie filling!) is thicker and more predictable. Use 450 g and skip the roasting step.
A crack on top
A crack means overbaking. Cover it with whipped cream — that is how the pie is usually served anyway.
Storage
Once cool, keep it in the fridge, loosely covered — it lasts 3 days. Freezing is not recommended: the filling may weep on thawing and the base softens.
