American pumpkin pie

The recipe for this pumpkin pie includes the following ingredients: thick pumpkin puree, sweetened condensed milk, butter, chicken eggs, wheat flour, drinking water, and spices. In the products, I listed those that were suggested in the original recipe (cloves, ginger, allspice and cinnamon — I changed the quantity to suit myself), but I also used others (more on that below).

The first step is to prepare the chopped dough. You can do it by hand, but in a food processor it’s much faster and easier. Sift 210 grams of premium wheat flour into a bowl, add a pinch of salt and cold butter, cut into cubes. It is best to put the butter in the freezer for an hour beforehand.

Using a metal knife, punch everything into fine butter crumbs. This will literally take 20-30 seconds. Now add 1 egg yolk (the white can be frozen and used for other recipes), as well as a tablespoon of ice water.

Once again we punch everything through (preferably in pulsating mode) so that we get such a fatty crumb. Try to put it together. If it still falls apart, add another spoonful of water — it depends on the moisture content of the wheat flour.

We collect the chopped dough into a ball, wrap it in cling film (or put it in a bag) and put it in the refrigerator for 30-60 minutes.

While the dough is cooling, you can make the filling. I made the pumpkin puree in advance: I steamed the pumpkin pulp in a slow cooker and then strained it through a sieve. You can also grind it with an immersion blender — it’s much easier. To make the puree thick, place the steamed pumpkin pulp in a sieve for 10 minutes — the excess liquid will drain (it is not needed). So, the filling. Break 3 chicken eggs into a bowl.

Beat them with a mixer or whisk, but not for long, but until light foam.

Add pumpkin puree and spices. About spices: in the original, this pie contains 1/4 teaspoon of dried ginger, allspice, cinnamon and cloves (all ground). Frankly speaking, I was simply afraid to add so much, especially since I don’t particularly like cloves. I literally took a pinch of it, as well as ground allspice. I added a quarter of a teaspoon of ginger (remember that this is a rather spicy seasoning), but I didn’t skimp on the cinnamon — a whole teaspoon went into the filling. While making American pumpkin pie, I decided to experiment a little more: add a teaspoon of dried orange zest (very handy) and a pinch of vanilla. You decide for yourself what you like best.

Once again, mix everything thoroughly or beat with a mixer to obtain a homogeneous puree.

At the end, add condensed milk — it is already with sugar, so no more sweeteners are needed.

All that remains is to mix everything thoroughly so that all the ingredients are combined. At this stage, taste the pumpkin mass and, if desired, add certain spices to your taste. If you find the filling too thin (it should be a little thinner than pancake batter), you can play it safe and add a couple tablespoons of corn or potato starch.

Turn on the oven to warm up at 180 degrees. Take a springform baking dish with a diameter of 20 centimeters if you want a tall cake like mine. If you choose wider, the finished baked goods will be lower. Line the bottom of the mold with baking paper. Take the chopped dough out of the refrigerator and place it in the mold. Using your hands, distribute it evenly over the bottom and make high sides. Now we also make sure to prick the dough at the bottom with a fork so that it does not swell during baking.

In addition, we add an additional weight to prevent the dough from rising. I have lentils (1 kilogram), which I once bought and forgot about. Now it is used for this purpose — as cargo. Place baking paper between the dough and cereals (peas, beans, pearl barley). Place the pan with the dough in the hot oven and bake for 10 minutes. Then remove the load and bake for another 5-7 minutes.

The American pumpkin pie dough is almost ready.

Pour our sunny filling into it and put it in the oven again for 1 hour (180 degrees). Bottom heating, no convection.

During this time, our pie will be completely cooked. The dough will bake, the filling will set and thicken. If you make cheesecakes and cheesecakes, you know that the readiness of such baked goods is easy to determine. Push the mold a little with your finger: the filling on the sides does not move, but in the center it ripples a little. But it's not liquid! Let the finished pumpkin pie cool for an hour, then you can remove the pan.

American pumpkin pie must be completely (!) cooled before serving. Better yet, let it sit in the refrigerator overnight. Then it will cut like clockwork.

Actually, that's all. You can take a sample.

Pumpkin haters, don’t even try to wrinkle your noses — it’s very tasty, tender, aromatic and filling. There is no pumpkin taste as such, there are only light shades of this wonderful vegetable. The aromatic spices did their job, and the condensed milk added silkiness and smoothness to the dessert. Try it, you won't regret it!