Pumpkin and Apple Pie

Tarts

After a truly horrible week and the promise of new beginnings, I decided that this afternoon would be a good time to make my first ever pumpkin pie using one of those cute Autumnal pie crust that always pop up on my Pinterest searches.

The company that I have worked at for the last five years may have gone into administration, leaving me unemployed but at least I have pie 🤷🏻‍♀️.

A buttery pie crust, filled with a super soft and creamy combination of pumpkin and apple purée, with delicate hints of cinnamon and vanilla- this certainly won’t be the last time that I make this pie recipe.

Ingredients 

  • 1 large pumpkin (peeled, de seeded and cut into chunks)
  • 2 Granny Smith Apples (peeled, cored and cut into chunks)
  • 320grams of short crust pastry
  • Plain flour (for dusting)
  • 140 grams of caster sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon of salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 eggs (beaten)
  • 25 grams of melted unsalted butter
  • 175 mls of milk

Method

  1. Place the pumpkin and apple chunks into a large saucepan, cover with hot water and bring to the boil for 15 minutes or until soft. Drain and then leave to cool.
  2. Preheat the oven to 180C/ 160F/ Gas Mark 4. Roll out the pastry on a floured work surface and then line your pie tin. Line the pastry with baking parchment and fill with baking beans and then blind bake for 15 minutes. Remove the beans and paper (be careful, the beans get SO hot), and then place the pie crust back in the oven for another 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool slightly.
  3. Blitz the pumpkin and apple in a food processor until it becomes a purée. Then get a sive and sive the mixture into a large bowl to ensure there are no stray chunks.
  4. In another bowl, combine the sugar, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon. Stir in the beaten eggs, melted butter and milk and then add this mixture to the pumpkin and apple purée. Give a really good stir to ensure that all of the ingredients are mixed together.
  5. Pour your mixture into the pie shell and add any cute pastry leaves or flowers for your pie crust decoration (I battled with hand carving pastry leaves for 40 minutes before I gave up and whipped my star cookie cutter out 🙇🏻‍♀️).
  6. Bake your pie for 30-40 minutes or until your centre is set. If the edges of your pie start to catch and burn, get a sheet of tin foil and cover the top of your pie- it will still cook but your edges won’t burn as easily.
  7. Serve cold with ice cream for a cosy autumnal treat 🥧!