“Cut my pie into four pieces, I don’t think I could eat eight.”
Yogi Berra
Light Pumpkin Pie. It’s difficult to not think pumpkin and get deluged by orange thoughts once fall is in the air. Come autumn, and pumpkin pie spice is the on the top of my head. It breaks my heart to say goodbye to stone fruit when summer draws to a close, and somewhere in the hot summer months I always forget the charm of fall. These days there’s loads of pumpkinon the table.
Oh the orange hues. persimmons, pumpkin {which is there pretty much all the year around here though}, and the little bitter kumquats. Such bright colours and so much fun! It’s around this time that the boy will gently come and request for a pumpkin cake on Halloween. For him it’s customary to ask. For me, it’s another opportunity to experiment. With a steady source of good quality pumpkin pie spice from the sister in the US, I am happy to take the pumpkin route.
The pumpkin pie came along in a hurry as usual. The ingredients were very basic with fresh pumpkin puree and some left over condensed milk thrown in. There was an orange sitting on the counter so in went some zest as a last minute thought, then a dash of Grand Marnier to compliment it. You can always skip the liqueur, but try and add the orange zest. The flavour orange zest added was amazing.
Whenever I experiment with pies or cakes, there is a sense of panic on the other side. Will it set, won’t it set. Will it slice cleanly, or maybe not??? Then again, hope it tastes OK! Heaved a mighty sigh of relief when it left the pan easily and didn’t flow like lava. YES! It had set. A few pictures, then a slice later, a sense of jubilation. It set beautifully AND was firm enough to be sliced, staying light and moussey!
The boy wolfed down a couple of slices in the evening. Is it dessert Mama he asked, before eyeing another slice. It was his after all, made on personal request. I would have done him a pumpkin pie latte on the side but I got a little lazy.
The husband gave it a thumbs up too. Is it pie, is it cake I asked? Cheescakey he said. It’s a pie that thinks it’s a cheesecake I guess.
[print_this]Recipe: Light Pumpkin Pie
Summary: Bursting with orange and fall flavours, this Light Pumpkin Pie is simple to make and quite addictive to eat. It’s a pie that thinks it’s a cheesecake. Serves 8
“Oh how we love pumpkin season. You did know this gourd-ish squash has its own season, right? Winter, Spring, Summer, pumpkin…. We anxiously anticipate it every year.”
Unknown
Pumpkin Pie Mousse …‘This is the best pumpkin pie mousse I have ever had‘, declared Mr PAB. Never mind that it was the first time I’ve made it. Chances are slim that he would have opted for it on a menu elsewhere. The kids asked for seconds before they hit the bottoms of the first servings!! That good! Such fun when a dessert experiment is successful. I have been eternally charmed by the humble pumpkin. With the pumpkin pie spice & walnut cake with buttermilk frosting, roasted pumpkin soup, then pumpkin brownies {yet to be blogged}, praline pumpkin pie, pumpkin pots de creme, pumpkin pie tartlets and pumpkin custard pies under my belt, I bought another huge chunk of pumpkin the other day.
With winter almost here I was in the mood to make a pumpkin peanut butter soup. Once the pumpkin was roasted, the day went rather busy. The well roasted veggie was hastily packed away, ziplocked and refrigerated for ‘tomorrow’. Yet tomorrow never came!
A million school holidays, the onset of the festive season, Diwali {read more food} and winter clothes to be unpacked made the pumpkin less urgent. Not forgotten though! Then the doodling teen and her father went for a quick trip to HKG. I thought I’d have SO much time. Boy, was I wrong!!
Then I thought of a welcome dessert, something pumpkin. A pie? Niyet! Too much work and no time. Plus gluten free pie crust scares me at times. With homemade pumpkin puree having the tendency to leave some watery liquid, I’d rather experiment in a better frame of mind. The morning gone, no time to bake, a mousse it was to be.
This was fun to do. I went with very basic pantry ingredients, happy in the thought that healthy pumpkin was the base. I added the gelatin on a whim. Have to say that it added just the right airy, light moussey texture once the mousse was set!
This mousse is off to My Utensil Crock for Our Growing Edge…“Our Growing Edge is the part of us that is still learning and experimenting. It’s the part that you regularly grow and improve, be it from real passion or a conscious effort. This monthly event aims to connect and inspire us to try new things and to compile a monthly snapshot of what food bloggers are getting up to”.
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Recipe: Pumpkin Pie Spice Mousse
Summary: Airy, light, moussey and delicious, the Pumpkin Pie Mousse is a wonderful make ahead dessert option. Serves 6 {and worth doubling}. Keeps for 3-4 days refrigerated.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes Ingredients:
“Foodie friends – Rosa, Helene, Alessio, Deeba, Vidya, Jamie. Love learning new stuff from you now and then! Whether it be your blogs,inspiring tweets or delicious FB posts. Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate and thank you! :-)” Fahad Khan via FB
How beautifully can sentiments be conveyed. The lines above are a reflection of everything the inspiring food blogging community and foodies share with large hearts. It’s a humbling feeling. Two small words like Thank You that can make the day shine! ‘Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate’. Thank you for being here. It’s Pumpkin Pie Tartlets in a Walnut Shell with Spiced Ginger Cream to celebrate the day!
Thanksgiving? There are some days which hold great significance in the Western world yet go largely unnoticed here. Every culture and every country however has a day they hold dear to say thank you for good deeds. For the baker in me, today is incomplete without baking a pie with a pumpkin, an opportunity to use this humble vegetable in a more fun way!
As aromas of pumpkin pie spice waft through the house, the lad will come sniffing the air hungrily. Pumpkin pie? YUM! I think I make this just because of him and his love for pumpkin {in dessert form}.This is also the only way both kids will eat the yellow veggie, rather hungrily devour it! This time of the year drives me to grab some pumpkin and roast it for puree.
It’s a humbling feeling to know that such a simple vegetable can give you such stunning end results. Since we are not a ‘pumpkin in the can’ country, the prep is always from scratch Pumpkin or kaddu is extensively used in cooking on the subcontinent as it is cheap, grows abundantly and is nutritious. It sometimes sneaks into Indian desserts as well like halwa and barfi too.
Adding pumpkin pie spice to puree energises the taste buds into reaching for higher ground, into appreciating how much more worth this humble yellow gourd can be! It’s simple to roast and make your own pumpkin puree, yet I find myself only ‘walking the roast the pumpkin plank‘ every Thanksgiving!
I wonder why? The Pumpkin Pie Tartlets in a Walnut Shell with Spiced Ginger Cream were really enjoyed by the family. The son gobbled his tartlet in a matter of seconds. Mmmm, these are GOOD!!They are simple to put together. I enjoy doing a walnut tart shell, inspired by the Whipped Strawberry Curd Cream Tartlets with Walnut Shortbread Crust.
Back to the TG moment. I have to say a big Thank You to Finla for these very charming and ‘so me’ ceramic ramekins she sent me {with ALL the other stuff} when her rockstar hub visited Delhi last month. I’ve been impatient to use them, and this seemed a good time to do so.
I love them; the colours and the feel full of rustic appeal. I wasn’t sure they would work well with tartlets. As you can see, luck was my friend {So was parchment paper. For that, gratitude to a sweet reader, now friend, Komal in Mumbai who continues to feed the ‘parchment monster‘ in me}.Big thank you!
On the topic of ramekins and parchment paper, a word about pumpkin pie spice. The spice is simple to make at home. It’s a mix of powdered cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. A good blend can be made in the 2:1:1 proportion i.e. 2tsp cinnamon powder, 1 tsp ground ginger and 1 tsp ground nutmeg.
And if you are making homemade pumpkin puree, make sure your puree is not too watery. You will not get a nice well set pie. The puree should be thick and can be cooked down if it’s too liquidy. If you add the pie spice to it while cooking down, the flavours will mature well. I added some freshly grated ginger juice to my filling. Nice!
To tie up all the warm flavours in the Pumpkin Pie Tartlets, I spiced the whipped cream gently with some powdered ginger. I did attempt to make some walnut caramel shards but the raw sugar did not oblige! Pumpkin, walnuts, ginger, cinnamon …warm, comforting, filling, delicious!
Happy Thanksgiving you beautiful readers. Thank you as always for stopping by! I leave you with a collage of random things that make me happy.
Don’t forget to tell me if you have something special you make with pumpkin!
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Recipe: Pumpkin Pie Tartlets in a Walnut Shell with Spiced Ginger Cream
Summary: Walnuts pair beautifully with warm pumpkin, pie spice and ginger to make these simple little tartlets. A touch of gently spiced ginger cream and we have a winner! Serves 8
Prep Time: 30 minutes {extra if you are making the puree from scratch} Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes {plus cooling & chilling time} Ingredients:
Pumpkin Puree
600-700g slice of pumpkin
Walnut tart shell
85g / 2/3 cup walnuts, chopped
50g / 1/4 cup raw sugar
100g / 1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled, cubed
150g / 1 1/2 cups plain flour
1/4 tsp salt
Pumpkin Pie Filling {recipe adapted minimally from here}
400g pumpkin puree
2 eggs
400ml {1tin} condensed milk
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1.5″ piece fresh ginger, grated, juice squeezed out through a strainer
Spiced Ginger Cream
100ml low fat cream, chilled
30g / 2tbsp powdered sugar
5g / 1/2 to 1 tsp ginger powder {as per taste}
Method:
Pumpkin Puree
Remove seeds etc of pumpkin {I used one long slice}, wrap in foil and bake at 180C for about 45 minutes.
Once warm enough to handle, peel and chop the roasted pumpkin, and puree. Yields about 425-440gms of pumpkin puree {approximately 1 15oz can}
Walnut Tart Shell
Preheat oven to 180C.
Place walnuts and sugar in food processor; process to grind to fine meal in short pulses. {Thermomix: Speed 9, 10 seconds}
Add the chilled butter and process until you get a breadcrumb like mix, 30 seconds. {Thermomix: Speed 8, 10 seconds}
Add the flour and salt. Process again until it begins to come together. Bring together gently until smooth and pliable. {Thermomix: Speed 8, 10 seconds, repeat if required}.
Divide the dough into 8 equal portions. {if dough is too soft, chill for 20 minutes in refrigerator}.
Gently press dough to line the base and sides of eight 3-inch loose bottomed tart pans or parchment lined shallow ceramic ramekins {as pictured}
Bake for 15 minutes until light golden and firm to touch. Cool completely before filling.
Pumpkin Pie Filling
Place all ingredients in a large bowl and whisk well until smooth.
Assembling Tartlets
Preheat the oven to 180C.
Divide the filling equally between the cooled tart shells. Bake for 45 minutes approximately until a knife inserted in the centre comes out clean, and the filling is firm to touch and glossy.
Cool completely on a wire rack and chill if you like. Chilling heightens the flavours of the ginger and pumpkin spice.
Note: The warm walnut shell might be a tad crumbly so be careful if you are trying to demold it while warm. Suggest chill the tart before demolding.
Spiced Ginger Cream
Whip the chilled cream with sugar and ginger powder until medium peaks. Place in pastry bag with a 1/2″ round nozzle and pie over pie once the pie is completely cool, preferably chilled.
