Vicki here, and I’m delighted that my good friend the prominent Canadian author Barbara Fradkin is joining us today with the ultimate fall recipe! Doesn't this pie looks scrumptious? Leave a comment below for chance to win her fabulous new book.
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Thanks, Vicki Delany. I’m delighted to be a guest on Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen. I have three different series, one with a police inspector and two with civilian sleuths, and I confess all of them are hopeless in the kitchen. They are more likely to be grabbing food to eat on the fly as they try to save the world, so food ideas are few and far between in my books.
But Hallowe’en is fast approaching, and there are pumpkins everywhere. On supermarket shelves, in market stalls, and on people’s front porches. The quintessential pumpkin food is pie. Its spicy/ sweet flavour and velvety texture are perfect for a chilly autumn day. So I delved into the realm of pumpkin pie recipes to find the best pie that pumpkin has to offer.
The first thing to note is that every recipe claims to be THE BEST. Secondly, there are many variations on spices and preparation, and many shortcuts if you hate rolling out pie dough or roasting pumpkins. Here’s my personal judgment on what is truly the best, but feel free to mix it up or simplify it by using pumpkin pie spice, canned pumpkin or ready-made pie shells.
Pumpkin Pie
Pie crust: makes a 9-inch pie
1 ¼ cups white flour
½ tsp salt
1 tbsp white sugar
¼ cup shortening and ¼ cup butter, both
very chilled.
¼ cup ice water
Pumpkin filling
2 cups pumpkin
3 large eggs
1 cup heavy cream
¼ cup milk
¾ cup golden brown sugar, or slightly more
to taste
½ tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp cloves
Preparing pie crust:
You can do this by hand with pastry cutter
or two knives, but the food processor is way easier! Of course, ready-made is
even easier.
Chill butter and shortening thoroughly and
cut into pieces.
Add butter, shortening, and ice-cold water
to flour, and pulse until mixture resembles a coarse meal and just begins to
stick together. Do not over-mix.
Turn it out on a flat surface, fold it in
on itself a couple of times to bond, and form a thick disc like a hockey puck. Wrap
in plastic and chill at least ½ an hour.
Roll out on a flat, floured surface to form
a 12-inch round, and transfer to 9-inch pie plate. Press down into the bottom
and pinch the edges.
Preparing the pumpkin filling:
Start by roasting a fresh sugar pumpkin (small, not the jack-o-lantern variety). Cut it in half, scoop out the seeds (you can roast these, but I feed them to the squirrels), invert halves on a cookie sheet and roast at 350 degrees F for one hour. The skin should peel off easily if it’s cooked. Cool, remove pulp, and puree 2 cups in food processor.
Mix salt and spices together with sugar.
Add eggs, sugar mixture, milk, and whipping cream, blend until very smooth.
Pour into slightly greased pie plate (see
note below). In oven preheated to 425 degrees, bake for 10-15 minutes, then
reduce heat to 350. Continue baking for 45 - 55 minutes. Cover the edges of the
crust with foil near the end if they become too brown. Pie should be firm at
edges but slightly jiggly in the centre. A toothpick inserted in centre should
be wet but relatively clean.
Note: there will be too much filling, don’t
ask me why. The amount would be perfect for a 10-inch pie dish, which I don’t
have, and which would require re-calculating the dough recipe. I just poured
the rest into a baking dish. Baker’s reward!
Cool on wire rack for at least 2 hours
before chilling. Can be decorated with whipped cream or eaten by itself.
I hope you enjoy this recipe, which would be far too difficult for either Amanda Doucette or Inspector Green to manage.
Barbara Fradkin is a retired psychologist
and multiple award-winning mystery author whose work with children and families
provides much of the insight and inspiration for her stories. She has an
affinity for the dark side and is best known for her gritty, psychological Inspector
Green novels, which have been nominated four times for the Crime Writers of
Canada Award of Excellence in the Best Novel category. She has won this award
twice.
More recently, she embarked on a
mystery-thriller series featuring Amanda Doucette, an adventurous,
passionate but struggling international aid worker who is looking for healing
and new direction. There are currently four books in that series, set in
different, iconic locations across Canada, with The Ancient Dead set
in the starkly beautiful badlands of Alberta.
I will be doing a random draw for a copy of
my brand-new Inspector Green mystery, THE DEVIL TO PAY. To enter, please answer
this skill testing question in the comments.
What police service does Inspector Green
work for?
Enjoy and Happy Hallowe’en!
