Great pumpkin recipes for Halloween

It’s that time of year when the supermarkets are packed with Halloween paraphernalia and a variety of pumpkins; namely the white, musket and the orange “Halloween” varietals.

I’m sure many parents will be cutting out pumpkins faces with the kiddie winks soon but what to do with all the left over pumpkin?

Pumpkin pie

I’ve had so many requests for this baked delight and I’ve finally developed a fool-proof recipe. This will surely be a showstopper at your Halloween party. Try a crustless version – it makes a lovely addition to your Sunday roast. Pure nostalgia! Click here for a great step-by-step.

Pumpkin fritters

Cook them with classic cinnamon sugar or try a savoury version with blue cheese, bacon and sage butter.  These look like free form pumpkin doughnuts. Happiness!

Baked pumpkin with cinnamon, honey and orange juice

This reminds me of my childhood. The trick is to roast the pumpkin slowly – so you get bags of flavour. Serve with your Sunday roast or braai.

Pumpkin pie with candied pumpkin seeds
(Makes 1 standard sized tart)

Ingredients:
Pastry:
100 g butter
1 ½ c cake flour
3 ml baking powder
2 T sugar
1 egg
2 T milk
Filling:
750 g cubed pumpkin (or a combination of sweet potato, butternut and pumpkin)
2 T softened butter
½ c brown sugar
1 t ground cinnamon
2 t mixed spice
25 ml custard powder
1 ml salt
2 large eggs
250 ml full fat cream cheese
125 ml cream
Candied pumpkin seeds:
¼ c pumpkin seeds
3 T sugar
1 t water

Method:
Preheat the oven to 200°C. Place the pumpkin on a large greased roasting tray and roast for +- 30 minutes or until tender. Set aside to cool. Reduce heat to 180°C. Puree the cooled pumpkin until nice and smooth.

Pastry: Place the butter, cake flour, sugar and baking powder in a food processor and blitz until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Whisk the milk and egg together and slowly add the mixture while the processor is on until it forms a soft dough. Remove and wrap in Clingfilm and allow to rest while roasting the pumpkin. When oven is free. Roll out the pastry and line into a greased ovenproof tart dish. Blind bake for 12 minutes. Set aside and allow to cool.

Filling: Reduce heat to 170°C. Whisk the butter and sugar together until light and creamy. Add the spices and custard powder. Whisk in the eggs, cream cheese, cream and pumpkin until well combined and smooth – don’t over beat. This is quite laborious, so use an electric beater if possible. Pour into the cooled blind baked pastry shell and bake for 45-50 minutes. Allow to cool completely before serving. Best made the day before.

Candied pumpkin seeds: Place the seeds, sugar and water in a non-stick pan. Heat over moderate heat and the sugar is melted and becomes an amber colour. Remove from the heat immediately and pour in an even layer onto a baking paper. Allow to cool completely. Then break apart.

By Carey Erasmus |Food Writer|Food Stylist|Recipe Developer