Butternut Squash Puree:
Preheat your oven to
400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment
paper or foil. Rinse and dry the Butternut Squash. Cut the squash in
half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Lightly brush the flesh of
the squash with a flavorless oil. Place the squash halves, cut side
down, onto the baking sheet. Bake for about 45 to 60 minutes or until
the flesh is soft and tender when pierced with a knife. Remove from
oven and place on a wire rack. Turn the squash over so the cut sides
are facing up and let cool. Then scoop out the flesh with a spoon and
place in your food processor. Process until you have a smooth puree.
If not using straight away, cover and store in the refrigerator for up
to a week.
Pie Crust: In
your food processor, place the flour, salt, and sugar and process
until combined. Add the butter and process until the mixture resembles coarse
meal (about 10 seconds). Sprinkle about
2 - 3 tablespoons of water over the flour mixture and process just
until the dough holds together when pinched. (You don't want a solid ball of
dough.) If necessary, add more water.
Turn your dough onto your work surface,
gather it into a ball, and flatten
into a round. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about one
hour or until firm. This will chill the butter and relax the gluten in the flour.
After the dough has chilled sufficiently,
remove from the fridge and
place on a lightly floured surface.
Roll the pastry into a
12 inch (30 cm) circle. (To prevent the
pastry from sticking to the counter and to ensure uniform thickness, keep
lifting up and turning the pastry a quarter turn as you roll (always roll from
the center of the pastry outwards).) Loosely roll the pastry
around your rolling pin and transfer to a 9 inch (23
cm) pie pan. Brush off any excess flour and trim the edges of the
pastry to fit the pie pan. Crimp the edges. If desired, press
the crushed gingersnap cookie crumbs evenly onto the bottom and up the
sides of the unbaked pie crust. Cover with plastic wrap
and place in the refrigerator to chill while you preheat your oven.
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) and place rack in bottom third of the
oven.
Butternut Squash
Filling:
In a large bowl whisk the eggs until frothy. Whisk in the
sugar, and then the cream, vanilla extract, ground
spices, and salt. Stir in the Butternut Squash Puree.
Pour the mixture into the unbaked
pie shell and place on a larger baking pan to catch any spills. Bake
the pie for about 45 - 50 minutes or the
crust has nicely browned and the
filling is just set, but the center will
still look wet. (A knife inserted about 1 inch (2.5 cm) from
side of pan will come out almost clean.)
Place the baked pie on a wire rack to cool. Serve,warm, at room temperature,
or cold with maple whipped cream. Store any
leftovers at room temperature about two days or in the refrigerator
for three to four days.
Makes one 9 inch (23 cm) pie.
Maple Whipped Cream:
Place
the heavy whipping cream and maple syrup in bowl of your electric
mixer. With
the whisk attachment, whip the cream until soft peaks form.
Scan
for Demonstration Video |