Chilling time:
1 hr

Special equipment:
9in (22cm) tart pan food processor with blade attachment (optional) baking beans

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
7 tbsp unsalted butter, chilled and diced
¼ cup sugar
1 large egg yolk
½ tsp pure vanilla extract

For the filling:
3 medium eggs, at room temperature
½ cup light brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
¾ cup heavy cream
14oz (425g) canned pumpkin, or 14oz (400g)
roasted and puréed pumpkin

Method:
1 To make the pastry, rub the flour and butter together until they form fine crumbs. Stir in the sugar.

2 Beat the egg yolk with the vanilla extract and add to the dry ingredients, bringing the mixture together to form a soft dough. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

3 Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).

4 Roll out the pastry on a well floured surface to 1⁄8in (3mm) thick. It will be quite fragile, so should it begin to crumble, just bring it together again with your hands and give it a gentle knead to get rid of any cracks.

5 Use it to line the pan, leaving an overlapping edge of 3⁄4in (2cm). Use a pair of scissors to trim any excess pastry that hangs down further than this.

6 Prick it all over with a fork. Line the pastry shell with parchment paper and weigh it down with baking beans.

7 Place the shell on a baking sheet and blind bake it for 20 minutes. Remove the beans and the parchment paper and return it to the oven for another 5 minutes if the center still looks a little uncooked.

8 In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, spices, and cream. When they are well blended, beat in the canned or puréed pumpkin to make a smooth filling.

9 Partially pull out an oven rack from the center of the oven, place the pastry crust on it, then pour in the filling. Bake until the filling is quite set, but before it begins to bubble up at the edges.

10 Leave the pie to cool in the pan for at least 20 minutes. Serve warm with thick cream or vanilla ice cream.

STORE:
The pie can be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2 days.

PREPARE AHEAD:
The unfilled pastry shell can be prepared ahead and stored in an airtight container for 3 days, or frozen for 12 weeks.

BAKER’S TIP:
Cans of ready prepared pumpkin are a short cut to producing this delicate pie, full of fall flavors. However, fresh pumpkin or even butternut squash can be roasted until tender and puréed for a homemade version. It will be denser than the canned pumpkin, so a little less is needed to set the filling.

Thanksgiving Pumpkin Pie