Pareve Pumpkin Pie for Shabbos

pie 007 Ted had no idea it was Thanksgiving this weekend, but I swear, there is something primally Canadian in him that I have never had… he’s just innately tuned in to the seasons here.  So I wasn’t surprised when he announced last night, out of the blue, that he was making pumpkin pie this Shabbos.

Since it’s our second time enjoying this recipe, which I found on Chowhound, I thought I’d repost it here.   The original poster aptly described this recipe as “light, more like custard than the dense, rubbery texture I associate with pumpkin pie.”  Indeed, I’d even call it fluffy – along the lines of a good cheesecake.

This “can’t believe it’s not dairy” recipe uses coconut milk instead of the standard cream or evaporated milk.  You can taste the coconut slightly, but it is a gentle taste that, in my opinion, complements the pumpkin really nicely (it originally just said “nicely,” but I added really after I had tasted the pie!).

Ted is using one of the little pie pumpkins we bought at the pick-your-own apple place.  We didn’t pick it, but we feel like we know where it came from, which is nice.  ;-)

Ted’s Yummy Canadian Thanksgiving Pumpkin Pie (Pareve)

Ingredients:

  • 1 fresh sugar pie pumpkin, steamed or roasted, pureed and drained to yield ~ 2 cups pumpkin. Good-quality/ organic canned pumpkin would likely give the same results.
  • 2 eggs
  • 1.5 cups coconut milk (we mostly use the Jewish brands these days though before it was commonly available I relied on a heter I found permitting any Thai brand of coconut milk)
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 packed brown sugar
  • 1 t vanilla
  • Spices:
    • 1/2 heaping t cinnamon
    • 1/2 t fresh nutmeg
    • 1/4 t allspice
    • 14 t cardamom
  • OR, Ted’s shortcut (and sometimes mine):
    • 3 tsp or so of tinned “Pumpkin Pie Spice” – we used more than the original quantity of seasonings because a) he likes a more intense flavour (I usually double the spice in spice cake, gingerbread and pumpkin pie just for him), and b) we make so little pumpkin pie that the tin is a few years old by now – so we use more to compensate for its reduced potency.
  • 1/2 t salt
  • 1 t cornstarch

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 425°F.
  2. Mix the pumpkin and the eggs.
  3. Add the other ingredients and mix well (we used the Pulse setting on the food processor).
  4. Pour filling into prepared pie shell (your own or frozen – I won’t tell!).
  5. Bake 15 minutes at 425°F, then approximately 50 minutes more at 350°F.  Check at 45 minutes and every 5 minutes after until the pie’s centre no longer wobbles when shaken gently (original instruction is great:  “until the insides are no longer super-shaky” – I just thought I’d quantify this slightly better!)
  6. Cool for a couple hours before eating.
  7. Enjoy on its own or with REAL whipped cream!  (just cuz it’s pareve doesn’t mean it’s not good enough to eat at a dairy meal)

Post-Shabbos p.s.  The only thing I didn’t love is that it was not the world’s best pumpkin despite knowing its provenance.  The flesh was too stringy, which added a slightly unpleasant “fibre” element to the pie.  I recommend using a very smooth-textured pumpkin and mashing it well – or using 2 cups of organic tinned pumpkin (NOT tinned pumpkin pie filling!).

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