Pumpkin Pie

When ready to bake preheat the oven to 200 degrees c

Start by making the pastry and it is much easier if you have a food processor.  Place the flour, salt, cocoa powder, spice and icing sugar in the bowl of the mixer with the blade added.  Blitz briefly so that all the dry ingredients are combined.  Add the chilled cubed butter and blitz for about 10 seconds until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

With the motor running then pour in the egg yolk and water mix and allow the machine to bring the ingredients to a dough ball.

Remove from the mixer, wrap in greaseproof paper or a beeswax wrap and leave to rest in the fridge for 20 minutes.

Roll out the pastry thinly between two sheets of plastic. This has many advantages – first no extra flour is needed which would leave white streaks in the pastry, secondly the pastry is easy to handle and thirdly extra flour changes the balance of the ingredients resulting in a tough pastry.

Once the pastry has been rolled large enough to fit the tin remove one sheet of plastic and lay the pastry dough, uncovered side down into the prepared tin.  Fit the dough into the corners and place back into the fridge, still with the second piece of plastic in tact.  After 20 minutes or so remove from the fridge, remove the plastic and bake blind.

Prick the base of the pastry with a fork, lay over a piece of greaseproof or baking parchment and baking beans. Leave pastry overlapping the sides of the tin, this will be trimmed after baking.

Bake for 12 minutes then remove from the oven and carefully remove the paper and beans.  The pastry base should feel dry to the touch, if it feels sticky then pop back into the oven for 4 minutes more.

Take from the oven, trim the edges of the tin with a serrated knife whilst still warm.

Reduce the oven temperature to 150 degrees c.

To make the filling – I used a one litre measuring jug for mixing and pouring.

Place the egg yolk, whole egg, sugar, salt and cornflour into the jug and mix to a paste. Add then the contents of the tin of pumpkin puree and the measured amount of evaporated milk and finally stir through the spices. Pour the mixture into the baked pastry shell and pop into the oven now reduced in temperature to 150 degrees and bake for 45-50 minutes until the filling is set and firm to the touch.

Transfer to a cooling rack and leave to go completely cold before removing from the tin.

I piped a spider’s web as a simple decoration and 50g melted dark chocolate is sufficient.

Serve on its own or with cream.