Image is for illustrative purposes only.
This is a smooth, honey-sweetened pumpkin custard filling, the kind that is poured into a blind-baked pastry shell and baked until it just sets. Honey instead of sugar gives it a rounder, slightly caramel sweetness, the cream keeps it silky, and the warm spices — cinnamon, nutmeg and a stollen-style spice blend — sit behind the pumpkin rather than shouting over it.
Baked, it cuts cleanly with a soft, dense, almost baked-custard texture and a deep golden-orange colour. Use it for a classic pumpkin pie, for small pumpkin tarts, or as a baked layer in an autumn or Christmas dessert where you want something spiced but not heavy.
Ingredients
The weights in the recipe table below will yield the following 'weight per unit' and 'number of units'. If you would like to change the recipe to cater to a different 'weight per unit' and/or 'number of units',
you can use the Recipe Calculator Tool below the ingredients table.
Note: The Recipe Calculator Tool is available to subscribers.
Weight Per Unit: 930
Number of Units: 1
Unit Size: 24 cm (9 inch) blind-baked pie shell
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WEIGHT
(grams)
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ALTERNATIVE METRIC
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INGREDIENT
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IMAGE
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CONDITION
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A
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200 |
7 ounces
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Honey
Honey is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers.
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B
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165 |
0.7 cup
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Thickened Cream
Cream is used as an ingredient in many foods, including ice cream, many sauces, soups, stews, puddings, and some custard bases, and is also used for cakes. Perfect for pouring, baking, whipping or adding the indulgent touch to your favourite recipes.
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C
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200 |
4 Whole Eggs
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Whole Egg
Eggs are one of the most common ingredients in a typical cake. Egg yolks and whole eggs store significant amounts of protein and choline, and are widely used in baking. Usually an eggs role in a cake is to add moisture and richness, act as a raising agent as well as a glue to bind the ingredients together.
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room temperature |
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D
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360 |
12.7 ounces
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Pumpkin Puree
Pumpkin purée is cooked pumpkin flesh blended until completely smooth, with as much moisture as possible cooked or drained off. You can make it by steaming or roasting peeled pumpkin until soft and blending it, or use canned pumpkin purée, which is unsweetened and unspiced.
unsweetened
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smooth and well drained |
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E
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1 |
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Cinnamon
Cinnamon (/ˈsɪnəmən/ sin-ə-mən) is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several trees from the genus Cinnamomum that is used in both sweet and savoury foods. While Cinnamomum verum is sometimes considered to be "true cinnamon", most cinnamon in international commerce is derived from related species, which are also referred to as "cassia" to distinguish them from "true cinnamon".
ground
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F
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1 |
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Stollen Spice
Stollen spice is a warm baking spice blend used in German Christmas breads, usually built around cinnamon, cardamom, mace, nutmeg, cloves and a little ginger. A good mixed spice or pumpkin pie spice can be used in its place.
ground spice blend
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G
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2 |
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Nutmeg
Nutmeg is the seed kernel of a tropical fruit, warm and sweetly fragrant when grated. Freshly grated nutmeg is far more aromatic than pre-ground, which loses its perfume quickly.
freshly grated
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H
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1 |
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Salt
Common salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in its natural form as a crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantities in seawater, where it is the main mineral constituent; the open ocean has about 35 grams (1.2 oz) of solids per litre, a salinity of 3.5%. Salt is essential for animal life, and saltiness is one of the basic human tastes. Salt is one of the oldest and most ubiquitous of food seasonings, and salting is an important method of food preservation.
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930
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Recipe Calculator Tool
Using this tool, you can alter this recipe for your own requirements. Use the two fields below to generate new weights for the ingredients above.
STEP 1. Enter your Custom Weight Per Unit
The 'Custom Weight Per Unit' is already loaded with the weight per unit for this recipe but can be changed if required. If all you wish to do is change the number of units (or servings), just leave the current weight per unit.
STEP 2. Enter your Custom Number of Units
This is the number of units (or servings) you want this recipe to yield.
STEP 3. Click Calculate
The new weights for your adjusted recipe will be displayed in the table above.
Method
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STEP
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ACTION
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DETAIL
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CONDITION
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1 |
Prepare |
Blind-bake a 24 cm pie shell and have it ready on a flat oven tray. If you are making your own D (pumpkin purée), cook the pumpkin until soft, blend until smooth and let any excess moisture steam off. |
Purée thick enough to hold a spoon mark, not watery |
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2 |
Pre-heat |
Pre-heat the oven to 180°C (355°F). |
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3 |
Whisk |
Whisk A and C (honey and whole egg) together in a large bowl until smooth. |
Honey fully dissolved into the egg, no streaks |
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4 |
Add |
Whisk in B (thickened cream). |
Smooth and evenly combined |
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5 |
Mix |
Add D, E, F, G and H (pumpkin purée, cinnamon, stollen spice, nutmeg and salt) and mix until completely smooth. For the silkiest result, pass the mixture through a sieve or blend it briefly. |
Even colour, no lumps of purée or spice |
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6 |
Fill |
Pour the filling into the blind-baked shell, stopping a few millimetres below the rim, and skim off any foam from the surface. |
Level surface, no bubbles |
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7 |
Bake |
Bake at 180°C (355°F) for 15 minutes, then lower the oven to 160°C (320°F) and bake for a further 30 to 40 minutes. |
Edges set, centre still wobbles slightly when the tray is nudged |
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8 |
Cool |
Leave the pie on a rack to cool completely, then chill for at least 2 hours before cutting. |
Filling firm and sliceable, surface smooth and free of cracks |
Important Notes
This quantity makes about 930 g of filling, enough for one deep 24 cm (9 inch) blind-baked pie shell, or roughly six 10 cm tartlets. The pastry case must be blind-baked first, otherwise the base will stay soft under the wet custard. Do not over-bake: pull the pie while the centre still has a slight wobble, as it firms up as it cools, and a filling baked too long will crack. Keep the baked pie covered in the fridge for up to 3 days and serve at cool room temperature. The unbaked filling can be mixed a day ahead and kept covered in the fridge; stir it before pouring.
Tools & Arrangements
Large mixing bowl, whisk, fine sieve or stick blender, digital scales, 24 cm pie tin or ring with a blind-baked pastry shell, flat oven tray, cooling rack.
