Lately I’ve been really trying to make an effort with the kidlets. Now that it’s fall and the potential for even a slight downfall is around every corner, I tend to stay inside a lot more. Considering I live in a rain forest, this may seem like a surprise to you, but having lived here all my life has not made me “used” to the rain, it has made me cautious of it. I, of the large volume of frizzy, unmanageably curly and poofy hair, tend to enjoy looking out the window and sighing more so than actually strapping on the gumboots, rain coat, hat, waterproof pants, etc. Fot that is the bare minimum of clothing I would need to be out in the rain.
I hate being wet.
What can I say? I got it from my Mother. She likes to be warm and dry too. Probably the reason she moved to Mexico for the winters. Brilliant. I think I’ll be right behind her one of these years.
Lately though, as the rain has not showed up for it’s winter round the clock lashing, I’ve been taking the kids out every day. Tossing caution to the wind, I strap two sometimes screaming kids into the car, drive to whatever blissfully natural or otherwise intriguing site I can find, hop out, unstrap kids, strap one on to my chest and hold the others hand in a death grip as we meander about whatever it is we are looking at. Fun stuff. No really, it is totally worth the Herculean effort of dragging plural kids around.
I mean, look at that face. How could I not want to show her amazing things every time I have the chance? She’s only awake for so long in so many intervals at this age, so scheduling is a nightmare, but for the older one, it’s an adventure he relishes.
We’ve gone to the stream to see the salmon run (not there yet though, maybe next week) and also visited the nature house, where we learned what owl is constantly hooting outside our windows in the spring (Great Horned and Barred). If strictly for educational purposes, our outings have been a blast!
Oh and on days that ARE rainy, miserable, cold and dreary we stay inside and play with the myriad toys littering the floor in every room. No shame here. As someone once said to me, cleaning up after kids while they are still playing is like shoveling snow in a snow storm. Sometimes we venture into the kitchen for a little noontime baking session. It all seems worth the pound of flour and sugar on the floor when he puts the oven mitts on both arms and waves them around, laughing hysterically. Good times.
Something I did not let him help me with in the kitchen was this dessert though. It’s not that it’s too complicated for him or too boozy or even that it contains raw egg whites. I simply did not want to share the licking of the cooking implements. Shameful I know, but this pie was so good, I couldn’t stand to lose one bite of it to anyone. I would have sat down and eaten the whole pie should I have had to for any particular reason.
I should warn you though, that this pie has ruined me. I will never, ever, ever eat another regular pumpkin pie again. Unless I’m being polite…
This pie is all the wonderful flavours of a regular pumpkin pie (the warm spices, the pumpkin-y goodness, etc.) without the overly heavy texture and feel. This pie is light and airy, fragrant from the addition of rum and orange zest and refreshing to eat rather than a chore at the end of an already large meal. Have this pie with your Thanksgiving meal and you too will be converted, I promise.
Pumpkin Chiffon Pie
Yield: One 9″ round pie
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutesFor the Crust:
2 cups digestive biscuit crumbs (about 14 cookies)**
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp each ground ginger and nutmeg
1/3 cup butter, melted1. Grease a 9″ springform pan and preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Create crumbs from digestive biscuits by placing in a zip top plastic bag and crushing with a rolling pin, or in a food processor.
3. Mix the crumbs with the remaining crust ingredients and press evenly into greased springform pan.
4. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely.**If you can’t find digestive biscuits, a good replacement would be shortbread cookies, arrowroot cookies or graham crackers (if you must).
For the Filling:
2 packages gelatin (such as Knox brand), or 2 tbsp gelatin powder
1/2 cup heavy cream, divided into 1/4 cups
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp each ground ginger, nutmeg, cardamom and cinnamon
3 eggs, separated and at room temperature
1/4 cup spiced rum
1/4 cup sugar
2 cups pumpkin purée
1 whole vanilla bean or 1 tbsp vanilla extract
zest of one navel orange1. Sprinkle gelatin over 1/4 cup of cream and let stand for 5-10 minutes.
2. In a medium metal bowl, beat brown sugar, salt, spices, 1/4 cup cream, egg yolks and vanilla bean.
3. Set the bowl over a pot of lightly simmering water (or use a double boiler) and whisk until sugar is dissolved.
4. Remove from heat and whisk in the cream/gelatin mixture and orange zest.
5. Stir in the rum and pumpkin and refrigerate for one hour.
6. In bowl of stand mixer, whip the egg whites and 1/4 cup of sugar until stiff peaks form. Gently fold into pumpkin mixture.
7. Pour over cooled crust and refrigerate for 3-4 hours.
8. Top with whipped cream if desired.
Similarly delicious dessert recipes from other blogs:
Pumpkin Swirl Brownies on Smitten Kitchen
Pumpkin Spice Challah on Always Order Dessert
Sweet Pumpkin Fried Wontons on Steamy Kitchen
Pumpkin Cannoli on Cucina Panzano
Caramel Pumpkin Gingersnap Cheesecake on The Pioneer Woman
I haven’t made a ‘normal’ pumpkin pie in years because it seems like there are always better alternatives, like this little gem. Can’t wait to try it this year!!!
And your kids are freaking adorable!
Julia recently posted..Pumpkin Butter and its MANY uses
I feel ya guys. I am not a fan of regular pumpkin pie..it’s just thick and kind of boring, to be honest. 🙂
I like the sound of this because I normally am not a fan of the gloppy, heavy texture of regular pumpkin pie. It’s why I never make it for Thanksgiving. But THIS one may just change my mind about pumpkin pie. 😉
Those kids of yours are just adorable! And this pie looks divine. I’m a bit biased to anything involving pumpkin though (:
Danielle recently posted..Goinggoing
Gorgeous looking cake!
Joe @ Eden Kitchen recently posted..Berry Stella Cookies
I will make this for my dinner party this weekend. It looks lovely and your cildren ar just beautiful.
norma recently posted..DID YOU SAY VEGETABLES
That looks lovely! I love pumpkin pie alternatives, like pumpkin cheesecake and the like.
I would really love to make this, however, we never have any kind of alcohol around the house and I don’t really want to go out and buy a whole bottle of rum just to make this pie because it would go to complete waste after that. Can I substitute anything for it, or just leave it out (although leaving out a whole quarter-cup of liquid seems like a lot…) Any advice?
Also, your kids are adorable. I have an almost-2-year-old boy and he’s such a handful by himself, you must be some kind of super mom to be doing what you do with 2 kiddos!
I would say that you could probably leave it completely out as it is a rather wobbly pie and removing the rum would make it just slightly firmer. If you do want to replace it though, I would say use 2 tsp of rum extract mixed with either water or a juice.
I usually avoid traditional pumpkin pie and make a pumpkin fluff as I call and serve it in martini glasses with whip. Your Chiffon Pie is close to my fluff, I am definitely going to try this this year. Thanks
Ah what cute kids!!
That just makes me want to run a finger through it 🙂 Yum! I’m off to buy pumpkins now.
Tickled Red recently posted..Feta Stuffed Mushrooms
I have to say, bar none, this is the best pumpkin pie I have ever eaten which is saying a lot. It had to be great to get me to eat it because I HATE regular pumpkin pie. Now however, I actually have a reason to eat it. Great stuff Liz!!
This looks delicious! I have made a pumpkin chiffon pie but mine never really firmed up (it was still delicious though). Looks nice and fluffy.
kickpleat recently posted..pumpkin spice steel cut oatmeal
The adventures you have with your kids sound like so much fun!
Kaitlin recently posted..Change – Apple Pie
My grandmother made two pumpkin chiffon pies every Thanksgiving–oh, they are the best–and two rum chiffon pies for Christmas–oh, THEY are the best!
Are you forgetting a step? Is the pie supposed to be baked at some point?
Ian, this is a no bake pie. The only part that you cook is the crust. There is also the step of tempering the egg yolks but no, you do not bake it.
Absolutely divine, I just love your recipes, so creative and tasty!
A french expat living in Ireland
At what step do you add the orange zest?
Hello Laura, sorry about that! I’ve changed the recipe to include the orange zest (it is added during the 4th step). Sorry again!
I’ve been looking for the perfect recipes to prepare and take with me to my mother’s for Thanksgiving this year. She lives 8 hours away and her kitchen is small. Any suggestions on transporting this without having to put in the fridge until we get to her house?
Thanks!
Ashley,
Although I don’t recommend driving for eight hours without refrigeration, it will be easy to transport in a cooler if you live it in the springform pan, with aluminum foil or plastic wrap over the top. It should make it there no problem!
I love pumpkin pie! and this variation looks close enough to the real thing with just a touch of adventure! Definitely bringing this to my family thanksgiving pot luck:) So are the egg whites raw? is that safe? is there a way to temper them like you do the yolks? My Grandmother is older and i dont want to bring something that may be unsafe. Thanks for the great recipe and adorable kid pictures. My boyfriend is a Ginger and I could only hope if we have kids that they are as cute as yours.
Carol: Here is what “What’s Cooking America” has to say:
“Raw Egg Whites: Although it is possible for Salmonella to be in both the white and the yolk of the egg, the white does not readily support bacterial growth. Cold soufflés, mousses, and chiffons containing raw beaten whites require refrigeration to maintain their character, and added safety factor. Such dishes might be considered low risk for healthy individuals.
For further safety, combine the whites with the sugar in the recipe (using a minimum of 2 tablespoons of sugar per white) and beat over hot water or over low heat in a heavy saucepan until the whites stand in soft peaks. Without sugar, the whites will coagulate too rapidly and produce an unsatisfactory meringue.”
So if you want to fiddle with the recipe to make it safer for your grandmother, give it a go. It should be okay. Another thing you could do is buy farm fresh organic eggs. (I used my backyard chicken’s eggs, so I knew they were safe).
I hope you decide to make it, it’s unbelievably good!
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! I am so excited and I think those options will work perfectly. Ill let you know how it goes:)
This recipe turned out amazing! I used pasteurized egg whites (eggbeater brand) and they fluffed up just fine. Everyone loved how it was like pumpkin pie but lighter and spicier. Huge Hit! will make it again. I am going to mix the last 2 pieces in with some vanilla icecream:) Delicious!!! Thanks for all your help.
Oh awesome Carol! I am so glad it turned out for you and you all loved it, even with the changes! Thank you for letting me know….;)
This looks amazing! So much better than plain old pumpkin pie!
Lauren recently posted..White Chocolate Cheesecake Pecan Pie Tarts
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