CHEESE AND PUMPKIN PIE
Normally, pumpkin pie is a typical thanksgiving dish with certain restrictions when it comes to ingredients. Here is a dessert format of a pumpkin pie, made with mascarpone cheese and a touch of the sour creme fraiche. Very good and very simple to make. Don't miss the chance - it comes usually only once in a year, unless you buy more pumpkins than people usually do!
1 big pie:
800 g/almost 2 lb. pumpkin, diced
50 g/2 oz. butter
2 egg whites
90 g/3 oz. sugar
60 g/2 oz. ground almonds
2 tbsp sifted flour
100 g/3.3 oz. brown sugar
1 can (250 g) of mascarpone cheese
200 g/7 oz creme fraiche
1 package (1 tsp) vanilla extract
3 egg yolks
powder sugar for dusting
Make the pumpkin purée first. Cook the pumpkin in butter and some sugar on moderate heat until it gets soft, then mix it into a purée in a blender and let it cool down.
Next for the pie base. Prepare a baking tray lined with a baking paper and preheat the oven to 170 C/340 F. Whisk the egg white until soft peaks, then under slow beating whisk in the sugar until you get a fine glossy meringue. Then add ground almonds and flour and gently fold it into the meringue. Spread out the mixture on the baking paper so it becomes a circle that will fit into your pie form later on. You can draw the circle beforehand, placing the pie form on the paper and drawing with the pen around it. Bake the meringue for about 12 minutes, then let it cool for a few minutes and remove it to a wire rack to cool completely. Then place it into the pie form, making sure it covers the entire bottom of it, that is - don't leave any space at the edges.
Prepare the cheesecake filling by mixing the mascarpone and fraiche, sugar, vanilla extract and egg yolks in a bowl until smooth. Add the pumpkin purée and mix again. Then pour the filling onto the base in the pie form, and bake for about 40 minutes, until the cake is just slightly wobbling in the center. Remove from the oven and let it cool. Dust with powder sugar and serve.