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Chiffon Pumpkin Pie
2010.11.29
The first step to making this pie is the crust. It's a basic crust made from gingersnaps instead of flour. I use about 2 cups coarsely chopped gingersnaps, 1/3 cup of sugar, about a 1/4 teaspoon of extra ginger (I love ginger), and 6 tablespoons of butter. Melt the butter and then mix all your ingredients together. Press them into a 9 inch pie pan and bake at 350F for about 10 minutes. Set this aside to let it cool.
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In a small sauce pan put 1 envelope of gelatin (this will hold your pie together), 1/2 cup of brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of ground nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger (I do love ginger!), and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. If you're feeling lazy you could also use pumpkin pie spice -it's basically the same thing, but I like this ratio of spices better.
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Next add 1/2 cup of milk and 3 egg yolks (save the whites for later). Mix this together and put it over medium heat. What you're trying to do here is get the mixture to thicken up some but not a whole lot - this is an airy dessert after all. Once it starts to thicken some, remove it from the heat.
Here's a fun science fact: Gelatin is basically a processed version of the protein collagen. This is the same protein that holds all your joints together. To make gelatin, collagen is treated with various acids to break down the triple helix (three strands wrapped around each other) into single strands and the result is then dried out. When gelatin is added to a liquid and heated, the strands start to reform and tighten up. You can think of it as spaghetti getting mixed up on a plate. These strands forming together again is what causes gelatin to make a jelly like substance. You can read more details about it here. |
Once your mixture is thick and has cooled slightly you can add 1 3/4 cup of pumpkin and 1/2 cup of rum. I use a spiced rum (Captain Morgan since it's usually sitting around my house) to give the pie a bit more flavor. I will warn you though - this pie packs a punch and you may want to use a little less rum. You should now put this mix in the fridge for about an hour so that it thickens up some more.
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Your next step is to whip the egg whites that you set aside earlier with about 1/4 cup of sugar. You want to whip the egg whites into stiff peaks. By the way, the same general idea behind gelatin applies here. Beating the egg whites stretches the protein chains out and air bubbles get trapped between the chains giving you a nice foamy white concoction.
Once your egg whites have been whipped to a stiff peak, you want to fold them into your pie mixture. Folding is exactly what it sounds like. You want to mix a little bit of your egg mixture into the pumpkin mixture to loosen it a bit. Then put the egg mix on top of the pumpkin mix and fold the thick pumpkin mixture over top of the light egg mix. The end result will be a lighter pumpkin colored mixture. |
Put the pumpkin/egg mix into your cooled shell and refrigerate for a couple of hours until it gets thick. Just before serving whip some cream and sugar and put it on top of the pie. I usually make a very sweet whipped cream since the pie itself is more spicy then sweet.
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For Thanksgiving this year I made one of my all time favorite pies. It's a chiffon pumpkin pie. A chiffon pie is made with oil as the main source of fat in the pie (instead of the traditional butter). Because of this, you have to use beaten egg whites to make it airy and the end result is a very light and fluffy pie. This particular pie gets a nice bite from the uncooked rum and has become a favorite in my family.
Like this recipe? Well here's a list of all the recipes that I've posted.
Chiffon Pumpkin Pie
2 cups gingersnaps
2/3 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
6 tablespoons butter
1 package gelatin
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup milk
3 eggs separated
1/2 cup rum
1 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
Preheat the oven to 325F. In a bowl combine the crushed gingersnaps, 1/3 cup sugar, 1/4 teaspoon ginger, and the butter. Press into a pie pan and bake for about 15 minutes. Set aside to cool
In a sauce pan combine the gelatin, brown sugar, salt, nutmeg, remaining ginger, cinnamon, milk and egg yolks. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens. Do not let it boil. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Add the pumpkin puree and rum. Place in the fridge to thicken. Stir occasionally to ensure even cooling
In a mixing bowl, whip the egg whites and remaining sugar to stiff peaks. Stir a couple of spoonfuls of the egg whites into the pumpkin mixture (this will make it easier to fold the rest in) and then fold the remaining in. Pour into the cooled crust and refrigerate for several hours to set. Serve with fresh whipped cream.
Like this recipe? Well here's a list of all the recipes that I've posted.
Chiffon Pumpkin Pie
2 cups gingersnaps
2/3 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
6 tablespoons butter
1 package gelatin
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup milk
3 eggs separated
1/2 cup rum
1 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
Preheat the oven to 325F. In a bowl combine the crushed gingersnaps, 1/3 cup sugar, 1/4 teaspoon ginger, and the butter. Press into a pie pan and bake for about 15 minutes. Set aside to cool
In a sauce pan combine the gelatin, brown sugar, salt, nutmeg, remaining ginger, cinnamon, milk and egg yolks. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens. Do not let it boil. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Add the pumpkin puree and rum. Place in the fridge to thicken. Stir occasionally to ensure even cooling
In a mixing bowl, whip the egg whites and remaining sugar to stiff peaks. Stir a couple of spoonfuls of the egg whites into the pumpkin mixture (this will make it easier to fold the rest in) and then fold the remaining in. Pour into the cooled crust and refrigerate for several hours to set. Serve with fresh whipped cream.
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