Ruffled Pumpkin Milk Pie Food

RUFFLED MILK PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush a 14-inch round cake pan with some of the clarified butter; set aside.
• Place 1 sheet of phyllo dough on work surface with one long side parallel to edge of work surface. Using your hands, loosely ruffle phyllo by pushing short sides toward one another to create a long cylindrical shape. Place upright in center of prepared cake pan, creating a spiral. Repeat process with remaining sheets, continuing spiral outward until bottom of pan is covered.
• Using a pastry brush, brush remaining clarified butter all over phyllo in pan; sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon. Transfer to oven and bake until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat milk in a medium saucepan until it just barely begins to boil; remove from heat. Whisk together eggs and sugar in a large bowl. Gradually add heated milk, a little bit at a time, whisking constantly; whisk in vanilla.
• Spoon milk mixture over baked phyllo, evenly covering surface. Return pan to oven and bake until filling has set, 25 to 30 minutes more. Dust with confectioners' sugar and cinnamon; serve immediately.

RUFFLED MILK PIE

Steps:

• Position a rack in the lower third of the oven, place a baking sheet on the rack and preheat to 350 degrees F.
• Brush a 9 1/2-inch deep-dish pie plate (preferably with ruffled edges) with some of the melted butter. Stir together the cinnamon and 2 tablespoons plus 1 1/2 teaspoons of the sugar in a small bowl. Set aside.
• Place the sheets of phyllo on a baking sheet and cover with a barely damp kitchen towel or several paper towels to keep from drying out.
• Place 1 sheet of phyllo dough with a long side closest to you on a work surface. Brush the phyllo sheet with some of the melted butter until completely coated, then sprinkle with 3/4 teaspoon of the cinnamon-sugar. Using your hands, gently bring the long sides toward one another, scrunching the phyllo as you go to create a ruffled effect. Gently coil the phyllo into a rose shape about 3 1/2-inches in diameter. Place the phyllo rose in one corner of the pie plate. Repeat to make 3 more phyllo roses. Arrange them so they fill the bottom of the pie plate in a single layer. If the phyllo dough tears or breaks, it is okay since it will just add to the ruffled effect of the final pie. If there are any spaces between the phyllo roses, gently spread them with your hands until the roses cover the entire bottom of the pie plate.
• Brush the 8 remaining phyllo sheets with melted butter, sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar and shape into a slightly smaller rose (2 1/2 to 3-inches). Place 1 rose in the center of the pie plate on top of the first layer, then surround it with the remaining 7 roses. If there is any remaining melted butter, drizzle it on top of the roses.
• Bake on the preheated baking sheet until deep golden brown and crispy, 25 to 30 minutes, rotating the baking sheet once after 15 minutes. Allow to cool slightly on the baking sheet while you prepare the custard.
• Place the milk and cream in a medium saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until it just starts to steam, 7 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat. Whisk together the vanilla, salt, eggs and remaining 1/3 cup sugar in a large bowl. While whisking constantly, gradually add the milk and cream mixture a little bit at a time until smooth and combined.
• Pour or spoon the custard between the crispy phyllo layers; this will ensure that the phyllo on top stays nice and crispy. Bake until the filling is just set, 20 to 25 minutes, rotating the baking sheet after 10 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with the almonds if using and dust with confectioners' sugar.
• Cut into 8 wedges and serve warm.

PUMPKIN PIE, USING MILK AND FRESH PUMPKIN

Steps:

• Prepare and roll pastry for single-crust pie.
• Line a 9" pie plate with pastry.
• Trim; crimp edge as desired.
• In a large bowl stir together eggs, pumpkin, and half-and-half.
• Stir in sugar, flour, vanilla, salt cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice.
• Pour pumpkin mixture into pastry-lined pie plate.
• To prevent over browning, cover edge of pie with foil.
• Bake in 375 F oven for 25 minutes.
• Remove foil.
• Bake for 40 minutes more or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.
• Cool on a wire rack.
• Cover and refrigerate within 2 hours.
• For Thanksgiving 2006 I added 3 small gala apples, sliced to the pie.

PUMPKIN SPICE RUFFLED MILK PIE

Steps:

• Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Brush a 9-inch round cake pan lightly with melted butter and line with a sheet of parchment that is large enough to come up the sides of the baking pan. Lightly brush the parchment with butter.
• Place 1 sheet of phyllo dough on a clean surface and brush it with melted butter (a light coat will do just fine). Place another sheet of phyllo over the top of the first one and brush with butter. Use your fingers to scrunch up the fillo long ways, into a loose ruffled strip (its okay if the phyllo tears a bit). Wind up the dough into a loose, ruffled spiral, place it in your prepared pan and repeat with the rest of the phyllo dough until your pan is filled. (you should have 5-7 spirals depending on the size of your phyllo)
• Brush the tops of the spirals with the remaining butter. Bake in the pre-heated oven for 20-25 minutes, until the phyllo is golden brown.
• While the phyllo bakes, prepare the pumpkin custard by whisking together the milk, cornstarch, pumpkin, vanilla, spices and sugar.
• Remove the pan from the oven and pour the pumpkin custard mixture over the spirals. Return pan to the oven and bake another 20-25 minutes or until the custard is set in the center.
• Let cool for 15 minutes, then lift from the pan and serve dusted with cinnamon and powdered sugar. Best eaten warm, but leftovers store beautifully in the fridge for up to 3 days (if it even lasts that long ;)

PUMPKIN RUFFLED MILK PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch round by 2-inch deep cake pan. Press a sheet of wide parchment paper down into the bottom of the pan, smoothing out the bottom so it sticks and creasing the sides (it won't lie perfectly flat, but that's ok). Trim off any extra tall scraps, leaving parchment about 1 inch above the edge of the pan (2 inches above if your pan is shallower).Unroll phyllo dough on a flat work surface. Cover with a sheet of waxed paper and a slightly damp kitchen towel on top; this will help keep the dough from drying out as you work.Place one sheet of phyllo dough on a clean surface. Using a wide pastry brush, brush a thin layer of melted clarified butter over the entire surface of the dough.Loosely fold into an accordion shape along the long edge. The size of your folds will depend on the size of your phyllo; for example, I used smaller 9-by-14-inch sheets, and made alternating folds about 2 1/4 inches in size (the final shape was like an M, if that helps you visualize the process). Ideally you want the height of your folded dough to be as tall as your cake pan.With the raw edges facing up, roll the dough into a rough rosette shape, and place into the center of prepared cake pan. Don't roll too tightly, as you do want to leave space in between the dough layers for the custard to go.Take out another sheet of phyllo dough, taking care to keep the rest of the dough covered. Brush with butter, then fold again into an accordion. Place into the cake pan and continue the spiral shape where your last piece ended.Continue to butter, fold, and spiral sheets of phyllo dough until the cake pan is completely filled. The dough will collapse inward a bit as it cooks, so if you can pack in another sheet or two around the outer edge it'll bake up more evenly. I used a total of 16 smaller sheets of phyllo for my pie; for larger sheets you may only need 8 or 10.Combine 2 tablespoons of remaining butter with 1 tablespoon honey; rewarm for 10 of 15 seconds in the microwave if necessary. Brush top of phyllo spiral generously with butter honey mixture, then dust with cinnamon.Bake for 25 minutes or until phyllo is golden brown and crispy. Remove from oven and let cool while you prepare the custard.To prepare custard, combine milk, cream, and pumpkin puree in a saucepan. Heat over medium, stirring occasionally, until mixture begins to steam (do not let it fully boil).Meanwhile, while milk is heating, whisk eggs with sugar, salt and spices in a medium bowl until frothy. Spoon hot milk mixture, 1/4 cup at a time, into egg mixture, whisking vigorously as you drizzle in the hot milk. This will temper the eggs rather than cook them. Continue adding hot milk, 1/4 cup at at time, until about half of the liquid has been incorporated and mixture is warm to the touch. Pour warm egg mixture back into saucepan with remaining milk and whisk until completely incorporated. Whisk in vanilla extract.Pour custard into cake pan, making sure to get custard into all the nooks and crannies between the layers of phyllo dough. The custard should only come about 2/3 of the way up your phyllo dough (you want some to remain uncovered so it stays crispy).Place cake pan on a cookie sheet (just in case of overflow), and return to oven. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until phyllo is deep golden brown and custard is puffed and set but still slightly jiggly.Remove from oven and place pan on a wire rack to cool completely. Use the parchment to lift the entire pie out of the pan and place on a serving plate, peeling down the sides. Dust with powdered sugar before slicing and serving.

FLUFFY PUMPKIN PIE

Steps:

• On a lightly floured surface, roll pastry dough to a 1/8-in.-thick circle; transfer to a 9-in. pie plate. Trim pastry to 1/2 in. beyond rim of plate; flute edge. Refrigerate 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 425°., Line pastry with a double thickness of foil. Fill with pie weights, dried beans or uncooked rice. Bake on a lower oven rack 20-25 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Remove foil and weights; bake 3-6 minutes longer or until bottom is golden brown. Cool completely on a wire rack., In a small heavy saucepan, melt marshmallows over low heat. Remove from the heat. Stir in the pumpkin, cinnamon, allspice and salt; cool to room temperature., Fold in whipped topping. Spoon into pastry shell. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving. Garnish with additional whipped topping and cinnamon if desired.