Praline Pumpkin Pie
Deeba Rajpal (Twitter @vindee) of
I was on Twitter yesterday and saw another blogging friend post a link to this recipe and one simple line . . . “be still my heart.” And when I saw this recipe I thought…. wow, be still MY heart!
The Twitter blogging community is so full of talented chefs, home cooks, photographers and just passionate and creative people. Deeba Rajpal has the most stunning baking blog called www.passionateaboutbaking.com. I can’t think of a more appropriate name. She usually writes about her own recipes or those of friends, but this one came from a wonderful book that is just being published called Park Avenue Potluck CELEBRATIONS. Aside from the great recipes in the book, it’s also a fundraiser for cancer. To read more about that, please visit Deeba’s blog. And then don’t just visit it, bookmark it because she is always making something wonderful and sharing her recipes. You may also become her Twitter buddy by following @vindee.
Now, back to the pie. I. Love. Pumpkin. Pie. It’s my favorite and I’ve seen some creative variations . . . but this one takes the cake, er… well…takes the pie! I intend to add this to my Thanksgiving table this year and hope you do too!
Pumpkin Praline Pie – Recipe
from Park Avenue Potluck CELEBRATIONS
Makes 8 to 10 servings
Ingredients:
- ½ recipe – your favorite
- 2 tablespoons apricot jam
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons canned, frozen, or freshly cooked unseasoned pumpkin puree
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1¾ cups heavy cream
- 6 tablespoons whole milk
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 2 tablespoons dark rum
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- ½ cup coarsely chopped pecans
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Pie Shell Ingredients:
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, measured by dip-and-sweep
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 10 tablespoons (1¼ sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into ¼-inch pats
- 3–3½ tablespoons ice water
METHOD:
Mix flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor fitted with steel blade. Scatter butter over dry ingredients; process until mixture resembles cornmeal, 7 to 12 seconds. Turn mixture into a medium-sized bowl.
Drizzle 3 tablespoons of water over flour mixture. With blade side of a rubber spatula, cut mixture into little balls. Then press down on mixture with broad side of spatula so balls stick together in large clumps. If dough resists gathering, sprinkle remaining water over dry, crumbly patches and press a few more times. Form dough into a ball with your hands; wrap in plastic, then flatten into a 4-inch disk. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. (Can be refrigerated for 2 days or, if sealed airtight in a plastic bag, frozen for up to 6 months.)
Generously sprinkle a 2-foot square work area with flour. Remove dough from wrapping and place disk in center; dust top with flour. (If it has been chilled for more than 1 hour, let dough stand until it gives slightly when pressed, 5 to 10 minutes.) Roll dough in all directions, from center to edges, rotating a quarter turn and strewing flour underneath as necessary after each stroke. Flip disk over when it is 9 inches in diameter and continue to roll (but don’t rotate) in all directions, until it is 13 to 14 inches in diameter and just under 1/8-inch thick.
Roll
out the pastry and line a 9-inch glass pie pan. Trim the edges and
crimp with a fork. Line the pastry with a sheet of foil and pile in
pastry weights or dried beans. Bake the crust for 10 minutes, then
remove the foil liner and weights and bake for another 10 minutes,
until lightly colored.
Remove from the oven and cool.
Reduce the
oven temperature to 375 degrees. Brush the bottom of the crust with the
jam. Place the pumpkin puree in a large bowl and beat in the granulated
sugar, 1 cup of the cream, the milk, eggs, rum, spices, and salt. Pour
into the prepared crust, place in the oven, and bake for 20 minutes,
then reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees and bake for about 20
minutes longer, until the filling is set. Remove from the oven and cool
completely on a rack.
Preheat the broiler. Combine the brown sugar, pecans, and melted butter
in a small bowl and sprinkle over the top of the pie. Cover the crimped
pastry edge with a strip of foil and broil for a few minutes, just
until the topping bubbles, watching carefully so it does not burn.
Transfer the pie to a rack and cool completely, about 1 hour.
Whip the remaining 1 cup cream and serve it with the pie.
Everything Deeba makes is beautiful!
Deeba – this is gorgeous!
Oh, yes, I’m rushing to the kitchen to bake one! One hint, though, to insure a good pie: when using freshly cooked pumpkin puree, i.e., from your own pumpkin you’ve cut up and cooked, it really helps to drain excess liquid from the puree.
http://www.starrskitchen.com