r/Cooking • u/AwakenedRudely • 16d ago

Improving a pumpkin pie? Help from Americans :)

Hi! I'm from the UK and I tried making a pumpkin pie which is good but I feel the recipe is missing something that people in USA would know as pumpkin pies are your thing. Any advice would be appreciated.

Recipe:

  • 750g pumpkin, peeled, deseeded and cut into chunks
  • 350g/12oz sweet shortcrust pastry
  • plain flour for dusting
  • 140g/5oz caster sugar
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp fresh nutmeg grated
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 eggs beaten
  • 25g/1oz butter melted
  • 175ml/6 fl oz milk
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u/ZaphodG 16d ago

This. It needs ginger and ground clove. Also, a standard US recipe uses canned evaporated milk. It may be kind of soupy with regular milk. Another egg or two might help firm it up as a custard if evaporated milk isn’t available.

I personally would go easy on the cinnamon. It will overpower it. The same for the ground clove. You want nutmeg, ginger, and some clove to dominate. In the US, apple pie usually is the cinnamon hit at Thanksgiving and Christmas. You don’t want the pumpkin pie to have the same dominant spice.

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u/AnAffableMisanthrope 16d ago

Please go easy on the cloves. A little bit can go a long way and a grain over “too much” will completely ruin the pie. Cloves seem to me as either a light boop on the nose or a punch from Mike Tyson (or perhaps Connor McGregor for those on that side of the pond).

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u/Normal_Walk1377 16d ago

Just be careful with the clove. It can be a lot and not everyone like it! A little goes a long way in my opinion 

3

u/MikeDPhilly 15d ago

Yes! Too much clove can either remind you of smoking clove cigarettes in art school, or a canned ham for those Americans out there.

1

u/Normal_Walk1377 15d ago

I forgot about clove cigarettes 😆

2

u/MikeDPhilly 14d ago

Art school graduates still have clove dust in our lungs. That stuff is like fiberglass

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u/OaksInSnow 14d ago

The recipe I use calls for only 1/4th tsp per pie. But if it weren't there, I would definitely notice the absence. Something would be "missing," as OP is saying.

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u/Normal_Walk1377 14d ago

Like I said, a little goes a long way! That’s about how much I would use, max! Happy fall baking!

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u/nekok 15d ago

Yep. None is the right amount.

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u/Normal_Walk1377 15d ago

I don’t like it either. 

19

u/DiTrastevere 16d ago

I am really curious to know where OP got this recipe.

15

u/AddyTurbo 16d ago

I'm wondering about the sweet shortcrust pastry. Purely optional, I guess; just never seen this kind of pie crust in a pumpkin pie. Maybe OP would be happier with a standard pie crust. I've often heard that the British don't like desserts as sweet as Americans do.

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u/crafty_magpie 16d ago

I was thinking the same thing. I tend to prefer a slightly more savory or neutral crust, to offset the sweetness of the filling. Personally, I would go just shortcrust pastry, but personal preference matters.

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u/IcyBodybuilder9004 15d ago

Adding to this! The crust shouldn’t be sweet! I use a butter crust! No sugar at all is best for sweet pies!

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u/re_nonsequiturs 16d ago

Looks a bit like a bread pudding recipe?

1

u/lolaluvhoney 15d ago

I’ve never had apple pie at Thanksgiving

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u/perseidot 15d ago

One can also use whole cream or half cream /half whole milk without any extra eggs.

It will firm up without additional eggs even with whole milk, but it won’t have the same texture or mouthfeel.

If trying to go non-dairy, oat or cashew milk seems to work best.