If I were to ask you to think of a vegetable associated with Halloween, you’d most likely reply ‘Pumpkin!’ We carve them year on year but they are often underused as an ingredient in the UK. I was first introduced to Pumpkin Pie by an American friend and I’ve adored it ever since. All the recipes I have ever tried though make at least 2-3 large pies, which I found a struggle to fit in the fridge. I therefore adapted the classic recipe to make these gorgeous mini Pumpkin Pie-lets. Made in a muffin tin, they are the perfect size to pick up in your hand, or eat in a bowl dowsed with cream. Even if you are not a fan of Halloween, these are the perfect Autumnal dessert. It’s also a sneaky way to get your children to eat a vegetable, my youngest absolutely loves them!

 

What You’ll Need

150g/ 6oz SR Flour

100g/ 4oz Butter

Pinch Salt

1 ½ Tbsp Water

85g/ 3oz Caster Sugar

1 Tsp Cinnamon

½ Tsp Ground Cloves

½ Tsp Ground Allspice

¼ Tsp Ground Ginger

2 Eggs

425g/ 15oz Pumpkin Purée

200ml/ 6fl oz Evaporated Milk

 

Directions

Preheat the oven to 200C/ 400F/ Gas Mark 6.

In a large mixing bowl rub together the flour, salt and butter until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add in the water and bring together with your hand to form a soft dough.

Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface and using a large round cutter, cut out 12 circles. With any leftover pastry cut out small decorations such as stars or pumpkins.

Lightly grease a 12 cup Muffin Tin. Gently line each muffin cup with a circle of pastry, carefully pressing down with your fingers.

In a large mixing bowl mix together the caster sugar, cinnamon, ground cloves, ground allspice, ginger, eggs, pumpkin and evaporated milk. Use a balloon whisk to ensure a light fluffy mixture.

Pour the pumpkin mixture carefully into each lined muffin cup. Then gently place one of the pastry decorations you made earlier on top of each.

Place into the oven for 3-5 minutes. Then turn the temperature down to 150C/ 300F/ Gas Mark 2 and bake for approximately 20 minutes or until each mini pie-let is firm to the touch. You can also gently insert a knife, when it comes out clean the pie-lets are cooked.

The pie-lets can be eaten hot or cold, I personally prefer them cooled and straight from the fridge with a dollop of whipped cream. They also look cute dusted with icing sugar.

Tip. Some select supermarkets sell tinned Pumpkin which is perfect for this recipe. You can also buy it online. If you can’t find tinned however, you can make your own puree by roasting a Pumpkin. Full instructions are on the blog here.

Butternut Squash also makes an acceptable substitute for Pumpkin.