"We love it!"

I've wanted to make an American pumpkin pie for two years. This orange beauty was just waiting to happen: the orange pumpkin was used to make cupcakes, then I had to get some wings to decorate them with, then came fall, and then I had to wait until next fall to get some beautiful colorful leaves to decorate my pictures with! But the stars aligned in a way that made it all come together: I found a beautiful bouquet of orange lantern ficus branches that someone had picked on a walk; I was lucky enough to buy a bright and sweet Arabidopsis pumpkin at the market; and then I picked a bunch of colorful maple leaves from the garden. Finally, you can bake the classic American pumpkin pie, traditionally made in the US for Halloween and Thanksgiving!

American pumpkin pie has a sandy bottom and a delicious pumpkin soufflé. The filling is much more filling than the dough, so the pie should be healthy. Thanks to the sweet aromatic spices and steamed milk, you can almost taste the pumpkin. Maybe a little. And if you add lemon or orange zest...).

And so the dream of a fantastic autumn pumpkin pie became a reality. But... As much as I love pumpkin and baking with it, I couldn't eat more than one slice of pie. Because it's too sweet! Pumpkin is sweet on its own, and plus 300ml of condensed milk is definitely too much. Even without the sugar. The filling is very sweet, and although the non-sourdough makes up for it a bit, it was topped with lemon juice to complete the pie. О! Now everything is in order:)

Family and friends loved the pie! Especially the next day when it was heavy. They ate it and were surprised, they said: "We love it!" There are probably some of you readers who are sweet and would like the recipe in its original form. I might try to make an American pumpkin pie again sometime in the future, but with modifications. First, instead of 300g, I should add no more than 150g of condensed milk. Second, I would add 1-2 tablespoons of powdered sugar to the batter to

to balance the flavour. Thirdly, I would make the cake in a 20 cm diameter tin, as mine is 24 cm wide and low, so it would be nicer if it were a little smaller in diameter but taller:)

For the batter:

210 grams of flour (1 and 2/3 cups, 200 ml),
150 g butter from the fridge,
1 pinch of salt,
1 egg yolk,
1 tablespoon of cold water.
For the filling:
450 g pumpkin puree,
450 g pumpkin seeds for 450 g pumpkin seeds,
300 ml condensed milk,
3.5 teaspoons cinnamon,
¼ teaspoon grated ginger,
a pinch of ground cardamom,
a pinch of ground cloves,
a pinch of ground allspice,
¼ teaspoon turmeric,
one teaspoon vanillin.

How to bake:

You can vary the spice mix to suit your taste. I don't like nutmeg, so I didn't use it, but if you like the taste, a pinch is enough. I added turmeric and cardamom, which were not in the original recipe. But cinnamon, ginger, cloves and allspice are the main ingredients. These spices are very good friends and work well with each other and with pumpkin. However, each cook can vary this set according to their own taste.

Prepare the dough first, as it needs to chill for an hour before baking. Sift the flour into a bowl, add a pinch of salt and the cold butter. If you have a food processor, you can use it to make the butter and flour mixture. Or rub the butter into the flour on a coarse grater and crumble with your hands.

Then add the egg yolks and quickly find everything together; add half a tablespoon of water and shape into a dough ball. If it falls apart, add a little more cold water. If it sticks, add half a tablespoon of flour. Wrap the dough in a bag and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes. While the dough is chilling, prepare the pumpkin filling. Peel the pumpkin, cut it into cubes and simmer (or roast) in a little water until tender. Strain the pumpkin puree again through a sieve or fine strainer to drain excess liquid from the filling. Leave to strain for half an hour.

Cover the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and crimp the edges. Take the dough out of the fridge and knead it in the bottom of the tin to form a high crust with raised sides. This is an important point - if the rims are low, the filling may not fit. Prick the base with a fork a few dozen times and place in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for 10-15 minutes. If you want to keep the pastry flat, spread the top out on parchment paper and cover with dried beans or porridge; then bake for 10 minutes with the top and a further 5 minutes without the top. Bake unloaded.

Finish the filling during this time. Beat the eggs in an electric mixer for half a minute until frothy.
Add the pumpkin puree and mix with the mixer for a few more seconds. Add the spices. Now add the condensed milk and mix well again. The filling should be slightly less runny than the pancake mixture. You can add a few tablespoons of starch or flour just in case. Remove the crusts, which are already browned, and pour in the filling. Here's a surprise: because the pan is wide, the sides are shallow, and I can see - the filling doesn't fit! What should I do? The solution is found: pour the remaining filling into silicone muffin tins. There were four of them, and I must say that the filling was a pumpkin soufflé in itself.

Put the dough back in the oven. Bake until the filling is no longer liquid. I bake the tart at 160 degrees for about 1 hour, but the little soufflé bakes faster - about 35-40 minutes.

Leave the finished pumpkin pie to cool in the tin: If you rush to take it out while it's still warm, it may crack. It's a good idea to leave the pie until the morning before slicing and tasting: like casseroles and cheesecakes, it's much easier to slice and tastes much better when frozen.

This is a slightly tasty pie... and a cupcake souffle:) I couldn't resist taking a picture:)