I wish we celebrated Thanksgiving in France. But we don't. Sadly. I love Thanksgiving not because it's a Holiday which means no work, but because of its meaning. I feel so lucky for all that I have today. A house, a nice camera, a wonderful family, friends… I think we should think of Thanksgiving not only as a holiday to remember what happened during the past, but also as a day to be thankful for what other people give us in the present : their love, their time, their patience…
So I imagined this pumpkin pie with a french inspiration. Lightly perfumed with honey, lemon and spices and served with a chocolate sauce and some homemade vanilla ice cream It's a kind of tribute to some of the people I love to thank them for all the good thing they bring to me. And it's also a big thank you to the few people who believe in me and follow me on this blog. Thank you and enjoy this pie :-)
Crust :
- 1 stick salted butter (melted)
- 1 table spoon muscovado sugar or brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 8 ounces (220 g) wheat flour
Pie filling :
- 17,6 ounces (500 g) homemade pumpkin puree or canned puree
- 2 eggs
- 2 table spoons heavy cream
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/2 of a lemon zest
- 7 ounces (200 g) white sugar
- 3,5 ounces water
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon four-spice blend
Steps :
In a large bowl, whisk together the egg and the melted butter. Add the sugar and keep whisking. Add the flour and use your hands to mix until you have a dough which is not too sticky and which does not crumble too much. Add a bit more flour if necessary. Cover your dough and set it in the fridge for at least one hour.
Cut the lemon zest in thin strips.
Heat the water and the white sugar over medium heat until small bubbles appear. Throw in the lemon zest and bring it on a low heat. Let the zest crystallise for about 20 minutes.
In a bowl, mix together the pumpkin puree, the brown sugar and the honey. Collect the zest and add it to the mix. Add the spices and keep whisking until the mixture is homogeneous. Set appart in the fridge for an hour so that all the flavours can mix together.
After an hour, add the eggs to the dough. Preheat your oven to 350° F.
Coat a work surface with flour and spread the crust. I like it quite thin but it's up to your taste to make it thick or thin.
Set it in a 9 inches pie shell and add in the pie filling.
Bake the pie for 30-40 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes clean.
Let the pie cool and serve it with a home-made chocolate sauce (simply melt 3,5 ounces dark chocolate in 1/4 cup boiling heavy cream) and some vanilla ice cream.
