pumpkin pie
Ready in
6 hours
Preparation
1 hours
Cooking
1h 40 min
Portions
8 Portions
Cost
chip
difficulty
easy
Pumpkin tart
Pumpkin pie americana
A shortcrust pastry shell containing a soft spiced pumpkin custard, decorated with lots of whipped cream? Yes ! it is she, the classic US pumpkin pie, the queen of sweets for thanksgiving, halloween and more, because the pumpkin crust is an autumn dessert that conquers you immediately from the first bite and can be consumed at any time of the day. The recipe for pumpkin pie or pumpkin crust is neither difficult nor long to prepare, in fact, a few hours are enough to make this fragrant dessert which, in addition to the pumpkin, contains a mixer of cinnamon, cloves, ginger and nutmeg. In Campania and especially in the areas of Naples, this mixture of spices is called “pisto”, not to be confused with pesto which is another thing entirely. The pisto is readily available in supermarkets and is also used for Roccocò, Mostaccioli, Morzelletti with honey and many other desserts.
Ingredients
Dough
- 250g flour 00
- 100g butter
- 100g sugar
- 1 whole egg
- 1 organic orange zest
- 1 spoon of pisto*
Custard
- 500 ml milk
- 500 g pumpkin (okkaido variety)
- 100g flour 00
- 250g sugar
- 3 whole eggs
- 50 g butter
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 spoon of pisto*
Decoration
- 250 ml sweet whipping cream
FOLLOW US
Directions
On the pastry board, pour the flour and make the fountain *
Put the sugar in the fountain, break the eggs and grate the orange peel over all the flour and then sprinkle the pisto* also over all the flour
Take the butter at room temperature and cut it into small pieces on top of all the flour
Quickly mix all the ingredients to ensure that the heat of your hands does not overheat the dough
Roll up the dough and mash it a little
Wrap the dough in a cloth and put it to rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes if you need it immediately, otherwise 12 hours
Cut the pumpkin in half. With a spoon, clean it from all filaments and seeds and salt it. Put the two halves in the baking tray covered with parchment paper, with the cut below. Now put in the oven and cook at 180°C (350°F) for 30 minutes in a preheated oven
When it is cooked, take the pumpkin out of the oven and remove the skin
Put 500g of cooked pumpkin in the glass of the mixer, add half of the sugar, blend everything well, gradually adding the milk until the mixture is velvety without lumps
Pour the pumpkin puree into a saucepan, cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until it reaches a boil, then turn off
In a large bowl or in the glass of the planetary mixer, whip the eggs with the sugar, the spices and mix the flour from bottom to top, making sure that no lumps are formed, then gradually add the pumpkin puree and mix well
Pour the mixture into a clean saucepan (not the one you cooked the pumpkin), put it on medium-low heat, always turning, especially on the edges and in the center of the pot. Let it thicken until some bubbles come out and turn off
Now add the butter into small pieces, mix well until it melts and everything is incorporated. The pumpkin custard is ready
Take the shortcrust pastry from the fridge, with a rolling pin roll it out over the lightly floured pastry board and form a circular sheet to cover the entire pan
Put the pastry in the pan, make it adhere well to the bottom and edges, cut all the dough that comes out of the edges
Prick the bottom with the tines of the fork
With a spoon or a whisk, mix the cream vigorously, to remove any lumps or patina, then, pour it into the pan with the pastry and with a fork or spatula, level the cream
Curl the pastry that is out of the cream and gradually lower it onto the cream
Bake at 180°C (350°F) in a preheated static oven and bake 30 minutes or until lightly golden
Remove the tart from the oven, let it cool for three hours, then remove the pan
Put the cake on the tray, decorate the whipped cream with a pastry bag or spoon and serve
Tips
- The orange must be organic and well washed and dried.
- The orange can be grated directly on the flour.
- If you want a truly excellent shortcrust pastry, knead it the day before, so it doesn’t break during processing.
- This is a hard shortcrust pastry, if you need a soft shortcrust pastry, add a pinch of baking soda or a sachet of baking powder to the dough.
- *The fountain is the hole that is made in the flour so as not to let the liquid ingredients come out.
- The Hokkaido variety pumpkin, is the classic pumpkin used at Halloween with small dimensions and orange peel, its characteristic is: a sweet pulp with a low concentration of liquids and a taste reminiscent of chestnuts.
- *Pisto is a mixture of spices used especially in the areas of Naples, if you do not have it you can replace it with the mix of the following spices: 1 tablespoon of cinnamon, 1 tea spoon of ginger and a tea spoon of nutmeg.
- The cream must be cold from the refrigerator.
Storage
The pumpkin tart can be kept for two to three days, always covered in the fridge.
Equipments
- Oven
- Drip tray or baking tray
- Greaseproof paper
- 3 Medium casserole
- Planetary or blender with bowl
- Silicone spatula*
- Wooden ladle
- Cooker
- 2 medium bowls
- Knife
- Colander
- Immersion mixer
- Grater
- Round pan 26cm
- Sac a Poche
- Spoon
- Tea spoon
- Tray
