Pumpkin pie (or spiced squash pie)

A few days ago (last Thursday to be precise), Americans celebrated Thanksgiving, one of the most important family holidays in the United States. On this occasion, and in memory of my life in Boston where I was a student for a few months, I wanted to make one of their traditional desserts, not very well known in France, pumpkin pie. I chose to make this pie with butternut squash, which has a sweeter and milder taste than classic pumpkin, and to flavor it with maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Finally, with my leftover dough, I decorated my pie with braids and a maple leaf. This pie is quick to make; you just need to account for the resting time of the dough and the cooling of the squash, but otherwise, it takes about 45 minutes of preparation. Get your rolling pins ready!

Preparation time: 45 minutes to 1 hour + baking

Pie crust:

350g of T55 flour
A pinch of salt
60g of icing sugar
200g of butter
1 medium egg (about 50g)
80g of water

Mix the flour, salt, and sugar in a mixing bowl. Then add the butter cut into small pieces and work the mixture until it resembles sand (as in the photo).

In a bowl, mix the water and the egg.

Then gradually incorporate the water/egg mixture into the previous mixture, and form a ball (do not overwork the dough; as soon as the ingredients are well combined, form a ball of dough).

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Butternut filling:

500g of butternut squash puree
50g of heavy cream
35g of maple syrup
50g of sugar
3 eggs
A pinch of salt
3 teaspoons of ginger
1 teaspoon of nutmeg
1 teaspoon of vanilla powder
3 teaspoons of cinnamon

All spices should be adjusted to your taste.

Cook the butternut squash in boiling water for about 40 minutes (it should be well cooked and easily mashable).

Let it cool a bit after removing it from the pot.
Then, place all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and blend everything into a puree using an immersion blender. (You can taste your preparation to adjust the spices).

When the mixture is smooth, set it aside while you roll out the dough.

Assembly and baking:

Roll out your pie dough and line a 20cm pie pan. I didn't do this, but for better baking, I recommend pre-baking your pie crust for about 10-15 minutes at 160°C before proceeding with the rest of the recipe.

Pour your butternut filling into the pie crust, then use the leftover dough to decorate the top of your pie (I made two braids and used a maple leaf-shaped cookie cutter to decorate mine). Using a brush, glaze the top of your pie with an egg yolk.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes in a preheated oven at 180°C; the tip of a knife inserted into the butternut filling should come out dry, and the top of the pie should be nicely golden.

Your pumpkin pie is ready!