My Christmas Present to Australia: Pumpkin Pie
By theprofessionalhobo ~ January 5th, 2009. Filed under: Australia, life at Kingbilli, recipes.
Australians love their pumpkin. As part of a standard “meat and three veg” meal, a slice of roasted pumpkin is often tastefully and deliciously included. Go to the supermarket, and you will likely find at least three different varieties of pumpkin, such as butternut squash, Japanese pumpkin (very yummy), and grey pumpkin.
And although roasted pumpkin is typically quite sweet, the idea of serving pumpkin for…dessert…is quite foreign to Aussies.
“I should serve this how? With what? As what part of the meal?” was the doubtful response of more than one Australian when I presented them with my North American contribution to their holiday meal. The idea of making pumpkin into a pie – a dessert no less – was practically unfathomable.
And when it came time to sample the fare, the variety of polite cringes they tried to hide while raising their first-ever fork full of pumpkin pie to their mouths was comical. Even more comical was the instantaneous look of surprise and delight upon tasting pumpkin pie for the first time, along with the much larger second helping they cut for themselves.
As a North American, we eat pumpkin almost solely as a dessert in the form of pumpkin pie. Although some squashes like butternut are served as savoury dishes, more often than not, if you think of “pumpkin” in Canada or the States, “pie” is the most logical word to follow. Pumpkin pie is typically served around Thanksgiving and Christmas season, although with the availability of canned pumpkin, it can be made any time of year for lack of fresh pumpkin being available.
Trying to find canned pumpkin in Australia is impossible. An Aussie friend of mine summed it up nicely when she said “why would you eat canned pumpkin? You’d never get an Australian to buy it.” This is, of course, because they didn’t know about the beautiful thing that is pumpkin pie. Until now.
So in my efforts to introduce Australia to pumpkin pie, I bought a lot of fresh pumpkin, boiled and pureed it up, and then proceeded to use the recipe below to create my Canadian gift to my Aussie friends. Depending on how watery the pumpkin puree is (mine was pretty watery) you may want to adjust the other liquid measurements in the recipe. I left out the 2tbsp of water entirely, and in some cases reduced the amount of evaporated milk. The mixture can be quite runny (the eggs will bind it all together), but I am accustomed to raw pumpkin pie filling having some girth. Trial and error is the best way.
EASIEST PIE CRUST IN THE WORLD
I hate pastries. I abhor working with shortening, rolling out dough, and fussing with pie crusts. When I bake pies at home in Canada, I pull the ultimate lazy-person-stunt and buy the frozen prepared kind. In Australia though, similar to canned pumpkin, they do not exist, so I was once again relegated to making it from scratch.
The good news is I found a recipe for pie crusts that does not require rolling, kneading, freezing, or the inclusion of shortening. Happy days! Try it out…you will not be disappointed. For savoury pie crusts, cut out the sugar and increase the salt to 1tsp.
190 grams of flour
1 tbsp (rounded) sugar
pinch salt
120 ml (about ½ a cup) vegetable oil
2 tbsp milk
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees (200 Celsius).
- Place all ingredients into a 9 inch pie pan.
- Stir all together with a fork.
- Pat mixture into the bottom and up the sides of the pie pan.
- Poke holes in the bottom and sides with a fork.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until light brown.
That’s it. Really! It is that easy. Hurrah for easy pie crusts.
PUMPKIN PIE
1 ¼ cup pumpkin puree
¾ cup sugar
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup evaporated milk
2 tbsp water
½ tsp vanilla
pastry shell (see above for crust recipe)
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees (200 Celsius).
- Combine pumpkin, sugar, salt, spices, and flour in a mixing bowl.
- Add eggs, mix well.
- Add evaporated milk, water, vanilla, and mix well.
- Pour into pastry shell.
- Bake at 400 (200 Celsius) for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 (180 Celsius) for 35 minutes.
A word to the wise: check on the pies often. Reducing the heat is essential to the pie’s success, and you will need to be vigilant to ensure that the crust or filling does not brown too much on the top. I ate more than a few pies myself this season by making the mistake of not keeping an eye on them and letting them brown too much to give away…at least that is my excuse and I am sticking to it.
January 6th, 2009 at 1:34 pm
Sweeeet (pun intended). We invited our Aussie friends over for Thanksgiving last October (yes, the Canuck version)…like your friends in your article, ours were very skeptical too. They eyed it up and down, backwards and forwards. They poked and prodded. In the end, they loved it (of course).
It’s funny, we never used to eat pumpkin/squash…but since being here we’ve become addicted to it and 4/7 meals a week will have it in some form.
January 6th, 2009 at 8:51 pm
That perfectly described my first encounter with a pumpkin pie. I had an American friend living here (Melbourne) for a few years. I went to a thanksgiving dinner she put on and tried the legendary pie. I think it was the cinnamon that sealed the deal for me.
January 7th, 2009 at 7:41 am
Now the burning question is: Carlo – your friends, and James – yourself…is pumpkin pie part of your enduring future? You now have the recipe, and no excuses…(smiles)
January 7th, 2009 at 12:49 pm
Hhhmm, pumpkin is about the only food I don’t like, unfortunately my girlfriend knowing this proceeds to cook it regularly.
I’m conflicted about whether to email her about your recipe…
January 7th, 2009 at 1:41 pm
Ha Ha Bryan…do it! You will not regret it, and may even find a way to eat pumpkin that you enjoy! At the very least, you will make her day.
January 7th, 2009 at 3:56 pm
Against my better judgment I forwarded your post to my girlfriend. She sounds interested, she also mentioned that pumpkin scones can be quite the delicacy too.
I have a feeling my skin may be taking on a distinctive orange shade over the next few weeks…
February 9th, 2009 at 7:32 pm
I first had pumpkin pie here in Australia over 40 years ago cooked by my grandmother who was a second generation Australian woman of Scottish heritage.
February 10th, 2009 at 2:56 pm
stephen, it seems that tradition has been lost here!
August 5th, 2009 at 9:20 am
My wife to be is a Kiwi living is Oz. She’s never heard of pumpkin pie and thinks it sounds wierd (pronounced “wee-ahd” LOL). I told her that I think it’s “wee-ahd” to have spaghetti for breakfast.
December 5th, 2010 at 10:30 pm
Well, it seems that i must taste that pumpkin pie. Thanks for posting the recipe on how to make it. I really wonder how it taste like. I love eating that’s why. it is a must taste one for me.
October 31st, 2011 at 1:23 am
Hey, just wanted to say an Aussie thanks for this recipe – it’s still listing for ‘pumpkin pie recipe australia’ so kudos to you for that – but also, thank you thank you – we have just re-realised the tinned pumpkin problem – and as I LOVE pumpkin pie, your recipe is going to be a real lifesaver! I esp like that it looks simple and very comparative to other recipes I’ve enjoyed. So cross fingers, here we go – and again, a big thank you from Australia from us
October 31st, 2011 at 1:37 pm
@Anna – I hope you enjoy the recipe! Yum….making me hungry just thinking about it….let me know how it goes!
November 20th, 2011 at 4:16 am
What kind of pumpkin did you find was best for making a pie? I’ve been looking for the smaller baking pumpkins like I found in the US, but have come up empty handed in the grocery store. Any tips? Much appreciated! I am introducing pumpkin pie from scratch this week to a few people
November 20th, 2011 at 7:23 am
@Moni – One of my favourite pumpkins to use are referred to as “Japanese pumpkins” in Australia & NZ; they’re dark green in colour, sometimes with lighter-coloured flecks. The light green/grey ones are good too.
But even a butternut squash will do the trick if you’re in a pinch…
Enjoy the pie! I’m getting hungry just thinking about it!
November 22nd, 2011 at 7:57 am
Thank you for this…I’m American and now that I have a child, I want to carry on the tradition even though I’m over here in Australia…I really have missed my thanksgiving dinners so actually cooking one this weekend for close friends and family over here in Australia…I am definitely going to attempt this pumpkin pie recipe and hope it goes well
November 22nd, 2011 at 10:45 am
@Rebecca – Awesome! Enjoy, and Happy Thanksgiving!
November 22nd, 2011 at 7:31 pm
Hello again, I forgot to ask when cooking the pumpkin purer…do u cut off skin of pumpkin and then boil it or bake it…what’s the best way…thanks a bunch
November 22nd, 2011 at 7:47 pm
@Rebecca – Yes, I cut off the skin (then cut it into little pieces), and I tend to boil it…but only in a very small amount of water – just enough to keep it from burning. It tends to generate its own juices a little, and I stir it often so that it naturally breaks down and by the time it’s cooked it is pretty much pulp anyway.
But I suppose you could bake it then mash/puree it…that would work too, and might add some nice flavour from the baking process.
November 26th, 2011 at 3:44 pm
Another thing I forgot to ask is the recipe in the u.s measuring system
November 27th, 2011 at 10:24 am
@Rebecca – The only measurement here that isn’t US is the flour weight. 190 grams of flour roughly equates to 1.5 cups.