Chocolate Pumpkin Pie

by Teanna DiMicco of SporkorFoon.com

First thing is first.  I am IN LOVE with this chocolate tart recipe. Sweet,tender, with hints of spice, it is topped off beautifully with a layer of melted bittersweet chocolate that adds the perfect, unexpected layer of chocolate delight.  The tart is a perfect vessel for the creamy, spicy pumpkin pie, the recipe of which is my favorite recipe to date. I did not use the Martha Stewart Recipe, as I did not have sour cream on hand, so I found a recipe on Joy of Cooking, and yes, it was a joy to cook this. 

Bad joke? OK. Sorry. 

Let me tell you a little secret: I had never even tasted a pumpkin pie until last year, because throughout my childhood pumpkin pie seemed unnatural to me. Pumpkins were for carving on Halloween, not for eating! You all must be mad, I thought! Actually, the whole concept of pie seemed unnatural to me. Why have pie when you can have cake, I thought?  And why have cake when you can have Carvel Ice Cream Cake?  It has crunchies in the middle!

But I digress. I do now love pie (although I still prefer Carvel Ice Cream cake. Seriously. I have no shame).  This will make a fabulous Thanksgiving dessert.

Chocolate Shortbread Tart Dough (adapted from Dorie Greenspan’s Baking: From My Home to Yours

 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
 1/4 tsp salt
 9 Tbsp very cold (or frozen) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
 1 large egg yolk
 1/2 tsp cinnamon
 1/4 teaspoon cloves
 4 oz semisweet chocolate

Put the flour, cocoa, spices, confectioners’ sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse a couple of times to combine. Scatter the pieces of butter over the dry ingredients and pulse until the butter is coarsely cut in — you should have pieces the size of oatmeal flakes and some the size of peas. Stir the yolk, just to break it up, and add it a little at a time, pulsing after each addition. When the egg is in, process in long pulses — about 10 seconds each — until the dough, which will look granular soon after the egg is added, forms clumps and curds. Just before you reach this stage, the sound of the machine working the dough will change — heads up. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and very lightly and sparingly knead the dough just to incorporate any dry ingredients that might have escaped mixing.

 Press the dough into the buttered pan. Press evenly over the bottom and up the sides, using all but one little piece of dough, which you should save in the refrigerator to patch any cracks after the crust is baked. Don’t be too heavy-handed — press the crust in so that the edges of the pieces cling to one another, but no so hard that the crust loses its crumbly texture. Freeze for at least 30 minutes, preferably longer, before baking.

To partially or fully bake the crust:

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375° Fahrenheit

Butter the shiny side of a piece of aluminum foil and fit the foil, buttered side down, tightly against the crust.  Put the tart pan on a baking sheet and bake the crust for 20 minutes. Carefully remove the foil. If the crust has puffed, press it down gently with the back of a spoon. For a partially baked crust, patch the crust as necessary, then transfer the crust to a cooling rack
(keep it in its pan).

Immediately sprinkle chocolate over bottom of shell; smooth with a spatula.

Pumpkin Filling:

3 large eggs

2 cups fresh pumpkin puree or 1 – 15 ounce can (425 grams) pure pumpkin

1/2 cup (120 ml) heavy whipping cream

1/2 cup (110 grams) light brown sugar

2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon salt

Leave oven at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) and place rack in bottom third of the oven. 

Make the Pumpkin Filling:  In a large bowl lightly whisk the eggs.  Add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine.  Pour the mixture into the prepared pie shell and place on a large baking pan to catch any spills.  Bake the pie for about 40 to 45 minutes or until the filling is set and the crust has browned (the center will still look wet).  (A knife inserted about 1 inch from side of pan will come out almost clean.)

Place the baked pie on a wire rack to cool.  Serve at room temperature with maple whipped cream.  Store any leftovers in the refrigerator. 

Makes one 9 inch  pie.

Related posts:

1. minty chocolate crackle
2. crazy pumpkin pizza
3. pumpkin challaaaaaaah!
4. fondant
5. butternut squash rigatoni