- Pumpkin Chiffon Pie

PUMPKIN CHIFFON PIE

Crust:

1¼ c graham crumbs
¼ c melted butter
1 T sugar
½ tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 325º. Combine crust ingredients, press into a 9 inch pie plate and bake (on middle rack, of course) for 8 minutes. Allow to cool.

Filling:

1 envelope unflavored gelatin
¾ cup sugar
½ tsp salt
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground allspice
¼ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground nutmeg
¾ c milk
2 extra large eggs, separated, yolks beaten
1 c canned pumpkin
½ c heavy cream, whipped

Topping:

2 c whipping cream, whipped.

Combine gelatin, ½ cup of sugar, salt, cinnamon, allspice, ginger and nutmeg in a saucepan. Stir in milk, egg yolks and pumpkin. Cook over medium heat until thick. Chill saucepan in refrigerator until partially set—about 1 hour.

In a bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add ¼ cup of sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Fold in ½ cup of whipped cream. Fold egg white mixture into filling. Pour filling into prepared pie crust and chill for 1 hour.

Just before serving, top with remaining whipped (you can cover the pie or just pipe around the edge of the pie).

Notes:

(i) This is a recipe that I used this year for Christmas supper. We always have 2 desserts, Tiramisu and one other. While I think that the flavors of pumpkin pie go well with turkey, I find that pie is a bit too filing after the turkey feast. I think this is a great alternative.

(ii) You can easily make this the day before you are going to serve it - just cover it with plastic wrap once it has cooled and leave it in the fridge.

(iii) I used a shortcut for the ½ cup of whipping cream in the filling. Even though I had specifically bought fresh whipping cream, I remembered that I had an aerosol container of (real) whipping cream (that I use for “special” coffees) and quickly made the decision to use the quick stuff – it worked just fine.

(iv) This pie also tastes great without the whipping cream on top – I know because in the flurry of activity between turkey and dessert I forgot to put the whipping cream on the pie!