Vanilla Chai Pumpkin Pie; dreamily smooth spiced pumpkin custard in a crisp buttery pastry, piled with vanilla chai cream.
Did I make this recipe simply because the name is fun to say? No comment.
Vanilla Chai Pumpkin Pie, rhythmic name aside, is the recipe you need in your life this season. I don’t care if you don’t like pumpkin.
Pumpkin Spice Lattes (and Pumpkin Spice everything else) has made a home in the UK, following US traditions, but the classic Pumpkin Pie is one sweet treat that just hasn’t caught on here yet. Recipes for Pumpkin Pie date back over a hundred years ago, allowing a sweet and satisfying dessert in times when sugar supplies were not as obnoxiously abundant as they are now. It isn’t the prettiest of puddings, and can turn people away at the thought of its vegetable-based components. But truly, its gentle Autumnal cosiness shouldn’t be shunned, especially in the form of this Vanilla Chai Pumpkin Pie.
Buttery shortcrust pastry, just itching to crumble and melt as you bite it. Smooth, sweet and gently spiced pumpkin custard. A pillow of softly whipped cream laced with the warming flavours of masala chai. The welcome crunch of tiny toasted pumpkin seeds.
Masala chai flavouring seemed like the perfect fit for a Pumpkin Pie, which already utilises some of the Indian spices contained in a chai blend. While the black tea (the actual chai part) is not the main flavour in this pie, it adds a delicious depth to the pumpkin filling, which without such flavouring can still be a bit too vegetabley. Following that, the familiar sweetness of vanilla helps tie all the flavours together into a neat little package of yum.
I’ve tested this recipe a few times now and can honestly say it’s an unexpected favourite (after the time the pastry was undercooked and the cream was too stiff and it got stuck in the tin, of course). It has even converted my skeptical boyfriend and one of his friends, who looked utterly horrified at the colour of the filling, before tasting it and devouring a third of the pie!
To make this dreamy Vanilla Chai Pumpkin Pie, simply follow the recipe below!
Vanilla Chai Pumpkin Pie
Notes
BE A MAVERICK: why not skip on the shortcrust pastry and make this with a mixture of melted butter and your favourite crushed biscuits/cookies?
Ingredients
For the chai blend (if you can’t find the individual spices, feel free to use a ready-made spice blend):
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- ½ tsp ground cardamom
- ½ tsp ground cloves
- Pinch of black pepper
- Pinch of salt
For the shortcrust pastry:
- 200g plain flour
- 120g cold salted butter, cut into cubes
- 3 tbsp icing sugar
- 2-3 tbsp cold water
For the spiced pumpkin filling:
- 125ml milk (preferably full-fat)
- 2 regular black teabags
- 400g pumpkin puree (from a tin or made with cooked, mashed pumpkin – you could also use butternut squash or sweet potato!)
- 130g caster sugar
- ⅔ of the chai blend
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs
For the vanilla chai cream and decoration:
- 250ml double or whipping cream
- 1 tbsp icing sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ⅓ of the chai blend
- Pumpkin seeds, lightly toasted in a hot pan (optional, for decoration)
- Cinnamon, for dusting (optional, for decoration)
Instructions
For the chai blend:
- Simply stir together all of the spices and set aside, ready to use later.
For the shortcrust pastry:
- If making by hand, rub the cubed butter into the flour and sugar with your fingers until it resembles breadcrumbs. If using a food processor, blitz all the pastry ingredients (except the water) until they resemble breadcrumbs.
- Add the cold water until the pastry comes together into a smooth ball of dough. If too sticky, add more flour, if too dry, add more water.
- Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface until it reaches the thickness of about a £1 coin.
- Lightly wrap the dough around the rolling pin, lift and unroll in your pie/tart dish.
- Use your fingers to gently press the dough into the dish.
- Roll the excess pastry off the edges, prick the pastry all over with a fork and chill it in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat your oven – 190 C / 170 C fan / 375 F / gas mark 5.
- Use either a scrunched-up piece of greaseproof paper or some foil to line the chilled pastry, fill it with either some dry rice, dry pasta or ceramic baking beans and bake for 20 minutes. This is known as blind-baking and just gives the pastry a chance to crisp up slightly and keep structure before adding the filling!
- Remove the part-baked pastry shell from the oven and allow to cool while you make the filling.
For the pumpkin filling:
- Heat the milk, either in a small pan on the stove or in the microwave, until steaming hot.
- Steep the teabags in the hot milk (as it cools) for 10 minutes to release their flavour.
- Place the cooled infused milk, along with all the remaining filling ingredients in a large jug or bowl and whisk into a smooth orange mixture.
- Pour the mixture into the part-baked pastry.
- Bake – 170 C / 150 C fan / 325 F / gas mark 3 – for 45-55 minutes until set with just the slightest wobble in the middle.
- Once baked, allow to cool in the tin before removing and chilling in the fridge until ready to serve.
For the vanilla chai cream:
- Pour all the ingredients into a large bowl or jug and whisk until thick and standing in soft peaks.
- Lavishly pile the softly whipped cream onto your chilled pie.
- Top with a few toasted pumpkin seeds (if using).
- Enjoy!
The recipe has nutmeg listed twice in the chai blend
Oops, thanks for pointing that out Becca – now fixed!