Healthier Pumpkin Pie

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Healthier pumpkin pie; a lighter take on an American classic, with all the familiar spiced and sweet flavour!

 

Who doesn’t love a classic dessert?

Pumpkin pie is undoubtedly an American classic that always seems to pop up around Thanksgiving. Yet, surprisingly, it’s one that I had not tasted until today.

I must apologise for my absence, uni coursework has absolutely swamped us law students over the past month and exams are horribly close, so my baking freedom is currently restricted. Thus when I had free time today, this healthier pumpkin pie was essential.

Pumpkin pie is wonderfully simple and can often be thrown together with ingredients you have in your cupboards, but this simplicity often means that your traditional recipes are laden with butter, sugar and even double cream. Don’t get me wrong, I adore these ingredients endlessly but in the run up to Christmas when we’re all surrounded by discounted chocolate and spiced cakes, it doesn’t hurt to make a few lighter choices where we can to allow us to indulge when we want to.

So to make this pie a little more light, I’ve swapped out white flour for wholewheat flour, butter for heart-healthy olive oil and removed any need for cream in the filling. Don’t fret pie lovers, I am one of your kind, I would never sacrifice flavour for the sake of health and this pie is as delicious as any other! (Blame my ever-health-conscious parents)

Don’t be scared of the vegetable content either! This pie filling is sweet, soft and smooth and is deliciously matched with the crisp slightly nutty flavoured wholewheat pastry. Trust me on this, several slices slices of this pie were my lunch today.

To make your pastry, in either a food processor or a large bowl, mix  flour, sugar, salt and olive oil until evenly combined.

Add cold water a tablespoon at a time until the mixture forms a dough that isn’t too dry or too sticky.

Use your hands to press this dough into a 23cm pie dish, try to get it as flat and even at the bottom and the sides as you can.

Chill this raw pie base in the fridge for at least 20 minutes while you preheat your oven and make yourself a cup of tea.

Place a piece of scrunched up greaseproof paper or tin foil inside the pie base and fill it with rice, beans or ceramic baking beans to help keep it flat.

Bake to crisp up slightly, and remove the rice/beans and paper lining.

For the healthier pumpkin pie filling, place the pumpkin, spices, salt, sugar/sweetener into a large jug or bowl and mix to combine.

Mix together the milk, eggs and vanilla and add to the pumpkin mixture.

Whisk everything together until fully combined and pour the mixture into the part-baked pastry.

Bake the pie until just set in the middle.

Once baked, allow to cool in the tin before removing and chilling in the fridge until ready to serve.

Now dust it with some icing sugar and treat your sexy self to a slice of healthier pumpkin pie or two!

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