Name: Pumpkin Pie
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 65 min
Total time: 250 min
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 250 g plain flour (plus extra for the work surface); 1 tsp salt; 155 g cold butter (in pieces, plus a little for greasing the tin); 60 ml ice-cold water; 150 g sugar; 0.5 tsp salt; 1 tsp ground cinnamon; 0.5 tsp ground ginger; 0.25 tsp ground cloves; 0.5 tsp ground allspice; 0.25 tsp freshly grated nutmeg; 2 large eggs; 425 g pumpkin purée (from a can, or home-cooked and puréed); 355 ml unsweetened evaporated milk (canned milk); whipped cream or vanilla ice cream (to serve)

Preparation

Mix the flour and salt and add the cold butter in pieces. Add the ice-cold water a spoonful at a time, working it in with a fork until the dough can be formed into a ball. Wrap in cling film and chill for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 220 °C, ideally with bottom heat. Mix the sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice and nutmeg in a small bowl.
Whisk the eggs in a large bowl, stir in the pumpkin purée and spiced sugar and gradually mix in the evaporated milk.
Roll the dough out on the floured work surface to a circle of about 25 cm, lay it in a greased 23 cm pie dish or springform tin and pull up an edge.
Pour the filling into the tin and bake at 220 °C for 15 minutes. Then lower the temperature to 180 °C and bake for another 40 to 50 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Do not overbake, or the filling will crack.
Leave the pie to cool on a wire rack for about 2 hours and serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Best baked and eaten on the same day.

Drink with it

Fortified wine · excellent match
Tawny port, 10 years old, lightly chilled
Nut, caramel and dried fig in the tawny meet the caramelly evaporated milk and the baking spices; its sweetness keeps pace with the filling.
Port wine: understanding Ruby, Tawny, and Vintage
Sweet wine · excellent match
Tokaji Aszú or Sauternes, well chilled
The wine is sweeter than the pie, its acidity loosens the dense pumpkin custard, and honey and apricot notes suit cinnamon and ginger.
Which wine goes with dessert? Comparing sweetness deliberately
Aged rum · excellent match
Cask-aged rum (Barbados, Jamaica), neat or with an ice cube
Molasses, vanilla and cask spice in the aged rum pick up cinnamon, clove and the caramelly evaporated milk; for a rum lover, one of the most obvious cakes to have with a glass.
Drinking rum neat: how to get to know a bottling
Cream liqueur · good match
Irish cream, on ice
Cream and vanilla in the liqueur suit the whipped cream on top, and the cold of the ice makes the sweet combination lighter.
Cognac and brandy · good match
Cognac VSOP, neat
Dried fruit and oak spice link up with nutmeg and the buttery pastry.
Cognac and Armagnac: Two Origins for Brandy

Why it pairs well

Cask-aged rum and cognac are not usual cake companions, but their cask and spice notes match the baking spices of the pie exactly.

Preparation

Mix the flour and salt and add the cold butter in pieces. Add the ice-cold water a spoonful at a time, working it in with a fork until the dough can be formed into a ball. Wrap in cling film and chill for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 220 °C, ideally with bottom heat. Mix the sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice and nutmeg in a small bowl.
Whisk the eggs in a large bowl, stir in the pumpkin purée and spiced sugar and gradually mix in the evaporated milk.
Roll the dough out on the floured work surface to a circle of about 25 cm, lay it in a greased 23 cm pie dish or springform tin and pull up an edge.
Pour the filling into the tin and bake at 220 °C for 15 minutes. Then lower the temperature to 180 °C and bake for another 40 to 50 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Do not overbake, or the filling will crack.
Leave the pie to cool on a wire rack for about 2 hours and serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Best baked and eaten on the same day.

Drink with it

Fortified wine · excellent match
Tawny port, 10 years old, lightly chilled
Nut, caramel and dried fig in the tawny meet the caramelly evaporated milk and the baking spices; its sweetness keeps pace with the filling.
Port wine: understanding Ruby, Tawny, and Vintage
Sweet wine · excellent match
Tokaji Aszú or Sauternes, well chilled
The wine is sweeter than the pie, its acidity loosens the dense pumpkin custard, and honey and apricot notes suit cinnamon and ginger.
Which wine goes with dessert? Comparing sweetness deliberately
Aged rum · excellent match
Cask-aged rum (Barbados, Jamaica), neat or with an ice cube
Molasses, vanilla and cask spice in the aged rum pick up cinnamon, clove and the caramelly evaporated milk; for a rum lover, one of the most obvious cakes to have with a glass.
Drinking rum neat: how to get to know a bottling
Cream liqueur · good match
Irish cream, on ice
Cream and vanilla in the liqueur suit the whipped cream on top, and the cold of the ice makes the sweet combination lighter.
Cognac and brandy · good match
Cognac VSOP, neat
Dried fruit and oak spice link up with nutmeg and the buttery pastry.
Cognac and Armagnac: Two Origins for Brandy

Why it pairs well

Cask-aged rum and cognac are not usual cake companions, but their cask and spice notes match the baking spices of the pie exactly.

Pumpkin Pie

Preparation

Drink with it

Tawny port, 10 years old, lightly chilled

Tokaji Aszú or Sauternes, well chilled

Cask-aged rum (Barbados, Jamaica), neat or with an ice cube

Irish cream, on ice

Cognac VSOP, neat

This pairs well too.

Baked Apple in a Nut Coating (Bratapfel)

Baked Apples with Vanilla Sauce (Bratapfel)

Baklava with Walnuts and Honey Syrup

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Pumpkin Pie

Preparation

Drink with it

Tawny port, 10 years old, lightly chilled

Tokaji Aszú or Sauternes, well chilled

Cask-aged rum (Barbados, Jamaica), neat or with an ice cube

Irish cream, on ice

Cognac VSOP, neat

This pairs well too.

Baked Apple in a Nut Coating (Bratapfel)

Baked Apples with Vanilla Sauce (Bratapfel)

Baklava with Walnuts and Honey Syrup

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting