Phan-tastic Pumpkin Pie
It wouldn't be Halloween without pumpkin pie! Follow our easy shortcrust pastry recipe to make this sweet treat, complete with maple syrup, double cream and crunchy nuts.
Total Time: 80 minutes
Servings: 1 pie
Ingredients:
1 x 500g block Jus-Rol™ shortcrust pastry
350g pumpkin flesh, cut into pieces
3tbsp golden caster sugar
248ml double cream
3 eggs Large
1tsp cinnamon
1tsp vanilla essence
2-3tbsp maple syrup
Crème fraiche, for serving
Equipment required:
Rolling Pin
Baking paper
Baking Tray
Baking Beans
23cm 9inch flan tin
Food processor wire whisk
Method:
- Preheat oven to 200°C (180°C for fan assisted ovens)/Gas M6.
- Lay pumpkin on a baking sheet, cover with foil and cook in oven for 15- 20 minutes until soft. Meanwhile roll out pastry and use to line flan tin. Line with baking paper and fill with baking beans and bake blind for 15 minutes until just cooked but not too brown.
- When the pumpkin is cooked, place in a food processor with sugar, cream, eggs, cinnamon and vanilla and whizz together until well mixed. Alternatively you can mix them all together by hand with a wire whisk.
- Carefully pour filling into pre baked pastry case, reduce oven to180°C Gas M 4 and bake for approx. 40 minutes until set. Allow to cool.
- Top with crème fraiche and a sprinkling of cinnamon. Serve with maple syrup.
Where did Halloween come from?
The roots of Halloween stretch all the way back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain. 2,000 years ago, the Celts celebrated the turning of the year on the 1st of November. So what is now Halloween to us, was New Year’s Eve to them. They would dress up, light bonfires and party the night away.
Then, in the eighth century, Pope Gregory III decided that November 1st would be a day to celebrate saints. After a while, All Saints Days started to take on some parts of the Samhain celebrations and the 31st of October became All Hallows Eve, which later turned into the Halloween we know now.
What is the meaning of Halloween?
During the time of the Celts, the start of November marked the beginning of winter and upcoming hardships. They believed that Samhain was a time when the boundaries between the real world and the world of the spirits was thin and that ghosts may roam the earth.
They held big celebrations, built bonfires and made sacrifices to their deities in the hope of staying safe and setting themselves up for a good year ahead. Now, Halloween is a time to celebrate all the things we find a little bit spooky while coming together to play games, light candles and have fun.
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How to celebrate Halloween
There are some parts of Halloween today that have links back to the holiday’s history – like guising (also known as trick or treating), carving a pumpkin and popping a candle inside, and feasting on lots of tasty snacks and dishes. It’s also the perfect time to dress up and give people a fright!
There are a few games that have become Halloween traditions that are well worth taking part in, like bobbing for apples or trying to eat a scone, bun or cinnamon swirl that’s hanging from a string without using your hands.
What should we do with our Halloween pumpkins?
The UK has loved carving spine-tingling faces into vegetables for centuries – and our favourite used to be the good old turnip. However, America opted for the much easier to carve pumpkin and in the 1990s, UK households adopted the orange option.
But what should you do with your pumpkin once it’s been carved? First of all, use its yummy middle for a treat like our pumpkin pie above. Then, once Halloween is over, you can pop your carved pumpkin in the compost or turn it into something fun like a bird feeder, by cutting it across the middle and stringing it from a branch.
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Why do we wear costumes at Halloween?
For both Samhain and All Saints Day, part of the fun was dressing up. People used to put on angel, saints and devil costumes and hold parades. These outfits were meant to scare away evil spirits so that everyone could look forward to a good year after the festivities were over.
These days, there are still lots of people who love the chance to wear creepy costumes but there are also tons of ways to dress up that aren’t connected to ghosts and ghouls. When it comes to the Halloween we know and love, the only limit is your imagination!
How to decorate your house for Halloween
There are plenty of ways to transform your home for the spooky season, from fake cobwebs to autumnal pumpkin displays. If you like to get a little spooky, try cutting silhouettes of rats, bats and cats out of black paper and sticking them to your windows. Another fun and easy option is to wrap some of your ornaments up in tissue paper bandages or to string up orange or green fairy lights.
If you prefer your festivities to have more to do with the changing of the season, then making some cute bunting in oranges and yellows or a nice wreath using golden leaves is a great way to celebrate the darker nights approaching.