Pumpkin Pie

If someone had told me 10 years ago that I would be eating vegetables for dessert, I would NOT have been happy. We don't have a Thanksgiving holiday in Australia, but I'm giving a whole lotta thanks for this pumpkin pie.

Dear PP (we're now best mates and therefore have witty nicknames),

Thank you for being sweetly smooth.

Thank you for having a crunchy nutmeg spiced topping.

Thank you for having a crispy, flaky pastry.

Thank you for going very well with ice-cream.

Photo courtesy of the talented Amy Robinson

Thank you for being a deliciously caramel-orange colour.

Thank you for keeping my vegetable intake up and for being clever enough to disguise yourself as a scrumptious dessert.

Pumpkin Pie:
Adapted from Good Living, May 21, 2010

Serves 8

50g sweet pastry (I used this recipe) plus a teaspoon of cinnamon
1 egg, plus 1 for egg wash
250g pumpkin, steamed and pureed
3 egg yolks
60g castor sugar
250ml cream
80g pumpkin seeds
30g brown sugar
20g butter
½ tsp ground nutmeg

Roll pastry to half-centimetre thickness and line a 30-centimetre pie dish. Rest for 30 minutes or preferably overnight. Pre-heat oven to 160 degrees C. Line shell with foil and fill with pastry weights or uncooked rice. Blind bake until cooked through and golden.

Remove foil and repair any cracks or holes with left-over raw pastry. Beat egg lightly for egg wash and brush over entire shell. Bake a further 4 minutes. Set aside.

Turn oven down to 150C. Combine remaining egg, pumpkin, yolks, sugar and cream and blend until smooth. Pour into pie shell and bake for 90 minutes or until just set in the middle. While pie is cooking mix together remaining ingredients on a tray and bake until bubbling and golden. Allow to cool and break up with a spoon. Sprinkle over pie as soon as it comes out of the oven. Serve with ice-cream or cream.