Pumpkin pie with candied pumpkin seeds

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.

Recipe reprinted with permission of Carey Erasmus. (Bits of Carey)