Roasted Wattleseed and Cinnamon Myrtle Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin Pie. Courtesy of Pexels (Kasumi Loffler), 2021.

First Nations peoples have been  harvesting and cultivating native herbs, fruits, seeds and roots for centuries. So, why not spice up your life and try making a beautiful dish using Australian native spices?! This pumpkin pie contains the nutritious and delicious bush spices of Ground Wattleseed (from our partner brand Kakadu Plum Co.) and Cinnamon Myrtle. Enjoy this Halloween delight for dessert or afternoon tea. Happy cooking!

Pie Crust:
Prep: 20mins
Chill dough: 2 hrs
Chill crust: 15 mins
Cook: 20mins
Total: 2hrs 55mins

Pie Filling:
Prep: 45mins
Cook: 40 mins
Total: 1hr 25mins

Total time: 3hrs 20mins 
Total time with store bought pie crust: 2hrs

Servings: 8 slices
Yield: 1 pie

• 1 ⅓ cups plain flour, sifted
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ cup refrigerated Copha vegetable shortening, chopped
• 3 ½ tbsp cold water

You can use store bought shortcrust pastry as an alternative.

• 2 cups mashed, cooked pumpkin
• 1 can evaporated milk
• 2 eggs, beaten
• ¾ cup packed brown sugar
• ½ tsp Cinnamon Myrtle, finely ground
• ½ tsp ginger, ground (or dried red back ginger)
• ½  tsp Wattleseed Ground
• ½ tsp salt

Native Wattleseed seed pods. Courtesy of Pexels Spicography, 2021.

Pie Crust Method:

1. Sift plain flour into a food processor and add the salt. Chop up Copha and scatter over top of flour. Pulse food processor until largest Copha bits are chickpea size. With the motor running on low, drizzle the cold water 1 tbsp at a time.

2. After approx. 10 secs, the dough should look crumbly, and should come together easily, but not feel overly moist and sticky. The pastry should be crumbly, NOT sandy. If it’s sandy, add another ½ tbsp cold water and blitz again.

3. Tip out crumbly dough onto a lightly floured board or bench surface. With lightly floured hands, shape the dough into a ball. NO kneading, the crumbly dough will stick together.

4. Pat the dough ball into a disc shape, wrap with cling wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

5. After the dough has chilled, place it onto a floured surface and roll out with a rolling pin into a circle. Start from the centre of the dough and work your way out in all directions, turning the dough as you roll it out. If the dough is sticking to the surface, sprinkle more plain flour and continue rolling.

Rolling out the dough. Courtesy of Unsplash, 2021.

6. Roll out the dough into a 30cm diameter circle so that there is enough dough to fit your typical 23cm diameter pie dish as well as some for the crust.

7. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C and grease a pie dish with butter or cooking spray oil of your choice.

8. Gently roll the pastry around the rolling pin and unroll it over the greased pie dish. Trim the edges with scissors, leaving 1cm overhang. Crimp or decorate edges as desired.

9. Put pie crust in the freezer for about 15 mins while the oven heats up. This helps to firm up the butter, prevent shrinkage of pastry and keep crimped edges intact.

10. Blind bake the pastry by placing 2 large pieces of baking paper crosswise over the pastry, then fill the pie dish with uncooked rice or baking beads to weigh the paper down. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven. If using store bought shortcrust pastry, blind bake the same way as homemade crust.

11. Remove the baking beads and baking paper from the pie dish, and return to the oven for 5 mins until the base is golden but NOT 100% cooked. Remove from the oven.

12. Cool pie crust for 15 mins before adding the pie filling to avoid a soggy base.

Pie Filling Method:

1. While the pie crust is cooling down, use 680 grams raw pumpkin to yield 2 cups of mashed pumpkin. Halve the pumpkin, remove the skin, scoop out the core and cut into chunks. Place the pumpkin in a saucepan over medium heat in 2 ½ cms of boiling water and heat to a boil. 

2. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 30 mins or until soft. Drain the excess water and mash pumpkin in a large bowl with a potato masher. 

3. Using an electric mixer, beat the pumpkin in a large bowl with the evaporated milk, eggs, brown sugar, Cinnamon Myrtle, Wattleseed Ground, ground ginger (or dried red back ginger) and salt. Mix until well combined. 

Kakadu Plum Co.’s  Wattleseed Ground available via Yarn. Courtesy of Yarn, 2021.

4. Pour filling into the cooled down pie crust. Bake for 40mins, or until the centre is set - you can tell this by inserting a skewer or butter knife edge into the centre and it comes out clean.

5. Cool the pumpkin pie completely, then cling wrap the top and refrigerate overnight. 

Serving: pumpkin pie should be served cold or at room temperature. Serve with cream or icecream, pecan nuts or walnuts and a dusting of ground wattleseed or cinnamon myrtle.  

Storage: store in the refrigerator as the pie contains eggs and milk, which spoil quickly. You can keep the pumpkin pie in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Recipe adapted from allrecipes.com and recipetineats.com, 2021.