Spiced Pumpkin Pie

The anchor of the orange week! I originally planned to have a decorative crust centre but it didn't materialize as I didn't have dough :9


A slice of orange heaven served with whipped maple cream! Just delicious (if I say so myself).

I've tried making pumpkin pie before, many years ago. It didn't leave a big impression on my palette, brushing it off to my poor baking skills. Being slightly adventurous this time (and also probably my memory was a little fuzzed up with the passing of time other than recalling vividly that this was YY's favourite type of pie), I decided to give it another go using the same recipe from joyofbaking but updated to include Rose Levy Berenbaum's tip of adding a layer of crushed pecans and gingersnap biscuits onto the unbaked pie crust. The reason for it is not only does it add flavour but also prevents the crust from being soggy.

It proved to be a wise decision to follow (for once) the entire recipe without any of my impromptu improvisation! *blush, erm I tend to get carried away sometimes :)*

The hardest part for me was getting my hands on some gingersnaps - people overseas might be amazed by this statement but it is true - I went to 4 supermarkets before spying a tube of gingersnaps (wondering whether it could it be due to the melamine scare?), even then it was centre filled (not what I wanted) but grabbed it anyway as I didn't want to comb the entire city just for a few pieces of gingersnaps. It would be unwise, even with the drop in fuel price! Besides, running around without guarantee for the final ingredient would be a true distraction if not a major letdown!

The only drama from this bake was D suddenly commenting "What is that strong smell coming from the kitchen?"!! Thinking of the worst - burnt crust aka ruined pie, I ran like a mad woman to the oven. Upon checking and with a breadth of relieve, there were no burnt signs/signals. As I walked back to the living area, D qualified his statement by stating he meant, "What is that wonderful smell wafting from the kitchen?" *shake head, well got my blood pumping for a few seconds!!* Lolz

If you are interested to have a slice or taste, pls click here.