Michele Albanos Maple Pumpkin Pie With Pecan Streusel Food

MICHELE ALBANO'S MAPLE PUMPKIN PIE WITH PECAN STREUSEL

Steps:

• To make the crust, combine the flour and salt in a medium bowl and mix well. Break up the shortening and toss it with the flour mixture to coat. Using a pastry blender or your fingertips, mix the ingredients together until the dough forms coarse crumbs. Add 3 to 4 tablespoons ice-cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough easily forms a ball that can hold itself together. Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and as long as overnight.
• While the dough is resting, make the streusel: Toss the pecans with the brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Add the butter, and using a pastry blender or your fingertips, work in until you have small clumps. Set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 425°F.
• Sprinkle flour generously over a hard surface and roll the dough out with a rolling pin until it forms an 11-inch round. Fold the round in half, place it in a 9-inch pie plate, and then unfold the dough to completely cover the pie plate with a bit of an overhang. Tuck the overhang under to make a double-thick rim, and then use your fingers to crimp the edges of the pie shell. Brush the heavy cream over the crimped edges, and refrigerate until the filling is complete.
• To make the filling, mix the pumpkin, flour, brown sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt together with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl well. Add the heavy cream and maple syrup, scraping the bowl several times while mixing. Mix in the beaten eggs.
• Pour the filling mixture into the pie shell, and bake for 15 minutes. Then lower the oven temperature to 350°F and bake until the filling is almost firm, about 30 minutes. Remove the pie from the oven and sprinkle the pecan streusel over the top, covering the pie completely. Return the pie to the oven and bake until the filling is just a bit wobbly in the middle and the pecan streusel is golden, 10 to 15 minutes. The total baking time should be 55 to 60 minutes.
• Cool the pie on a wire rack. The pie is best served at either at room temperature or cold. Before serving, garnish the pie with the Maple Whipped Cream.
• Maple Whipped Cream
• Place the metal bowl of an electric mixer in the freezer to chill for at least 15 minutes.
• Combine the cream, confectioners' sugar, and vanilla in the chilled bowl, and beat on high speed until the mixture thickens. Add the maple syrup and beat on high speed until the cream holds firm peaks.

STREUSEL

Steps:

• To make the streusel: Put the flour, sugar and salt in a medium bowl and mix everything together by running the ingredients through your fingers. Drop in the butter and squeeze and rub the cubes into the mixture until you have a sandy mix. If you press a little streusel together, you'll get lumps, which is just what you want. Drizzle the vanilla over the streusel and toss, squeeze and rub to distribute it. Cover the bowl and chill the streusel until needed. (You can make the streusel up to 1 week ahead; pack it in an airtight container and keep it refrigerated.)

MAPLE WALNUT PUMPKIN PIE

Steps:

• HEAT oven to 425 degrees F. Combine pumpkin, sweetened condensed milk, eggs, maple flavoring, cinnamon, salt, ginger and nutmeg in large bowl. Mix well. Pour into pie crust.
• BAKE 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Bake an additional 30 minutes.
• COMBINE brown sugar, flour and cinnamon in medium bowl. Cut in butter with pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in nuts. Remove pie from oven. Top evenly with crumb mixture.
• BAKE an additional 10 minutes. Cool. Garnish as desired.

MAPLE PECAN PUMPKIN PIE

Steps:

• heat oven to 375*F.
• line a 9" pie pan with pastry, crimp or flute crust, set aside.
• in a large bowl stir together pumpkin, sugar and eggs. add remaining ingredients except (pecans, 2 tablespoon maple syrup, 1/2 cup whipping cream and 1 tablespoon maple syrup).
• pour into prepared pie shell. cover edge of crust with 2" strip of aluminum foil. bake for 40 minutes.
• remove aluminum foil, bake for 15 to 25 minutes or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean.
• arrange pecan halves on top of pie; drizzle or brush 2 tablespoons of maple syrup over pecans.
• in chilled small mixer bowl, beat chilled whipped cream at high speed, scraping bowl often until soft peaks form.
• gradually add 1 tablesppon maple syrup, continue beating until stiff peaks form (1 to 2 min).
• serve pie with whipped cream.