Pretty Pumpkin Pie
Prep Time: 40 min | Baking Time: 50 min | Total Time: 1 hour, 30 min
Pumpkin Pie just screams cozy fall baking! Plus no thanksgiving table is complete without it. I love the contrast of the crisp flaky pastry and silky smooth pumpkin filling.
Pretty Pumpkin Pie
I made the short crust pastry from scratch. You can buy store bought, but I find making this oddly therapeutic and rewarding. It also makes me nostalgic because my mama taught me how to make this when I was a little girl. We will Par bake the pastry, which is the secret to avoiding that dreaded soggy bottom!
The presentation of this Pie is just gorgeous. I made it in a square pan with a removable bottom. Half of it was naked and exposed for everyone to see the deep orange goodness it has to offer and the other half was hiding behind a pretty cover of pastry flowers and butterflies. A sweet silky surprise waiting to be discovered.
Equipment
- 9 inch square pan with removable bottom
- Or 9 inch deep round pie dish
- Pastry blender (optional)
- Ceramic Pie weights or rice
- Parchment Paper
- Flower/butterfly cookie cutters
Ingredients
Short crust pastry
- 14 oz. all purpose flour
- 8 oz. cold unsalted cold butter
- Pinch of salt
- Ice water
Filling
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
- Pinch of salt
- 15 oz. can of pumpkin puree
- 12 oz. half and half
Egg Wash
- 1 Egg beaten
- 1 Tbsp water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 F
- Make pastry. Add the cubed butter to the flour and rub in with fingers or a pastry blender, till it resembles coarse breadcrumbs
- Gradually add chilled water, 1 Tablespoon at a time till the dough comes together
- Form 2 discs, wrap with cling wrap and refrigerate for 30 mins
- Roll out half the dough and line the pan with pastry, cut off excess pastry with a knife. Dot it with a fork, chill for about 10 mins in the fridge.
- Put parchment paper in the center and fill with pie weights. Bake for 15 mins. Take weights out, apply egg wash and bake again for 5 to 7 mins
- Preheat oven to 425 F
- Make pumpkin filling, whisk eggs, add pumpkin puree, then the sugars and spices and gradually add the half and half till combined. Set aside
- Roll out the other half of dough into a square, slit it in the center and cut a triangle out
- Pour filling into pastry lined dish
- Gently Place the pastry triangle on top of the filling, brush with some egg wash
- Cut flowers, leaves, butterflies out of the rest of the dough, and place them on the triangle. Brush some egg wash on them.
- Put the apples in your dish first, spoon the crumble on top
- Bake for 15 mins at 425 F lower the oven to 350 and bake for another 30 -40 mins till pastry is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out fairly clean
- Once cooled, you can lightly dust the pastry flowers with some luster dust to enhance the color a bit
Video
Notes
Some helpful tips:
Your butter should be cold when you rub it in with your fingers for the pastry
In the last 15 mins of baking you can tent the edges with some foil to avoid excessive browning of the crust
Leave a Comment, I'd love to hear your thoughts!