Sweet Treats: Honeyed pumpkin pies

Still got some pumpkin left after Halloween and not quite sure what to do with it? Grab some honey and turn it into these delicious pumpkin pies.

This recipe from Rowse Honey is a great way to use up any leftover pumpkin from the season.

For more inspiration and to see our other recipes in this series, take a look at the Sweet Treats section of our website here.

Honeyed pumpkin pies

(Makes 12) 

Ingredients

For the pastry:

• 225g plain flour
• 50g caster sugar
• 100g butter, diced
• 2 egg yolks
• 2-3 tsp cold water

For the filling:

• 450g deseeded pumpkin, peeled, diced
• 75g Rowse Acacia honey
• 75g light muscovado sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• ½ tsp ground mixed spice
• Little milk to glaze
• Little caster sugar to decorate

Method

1. Add the flour and sugar to a bowl, add the butter and rub in with fingertips or an electric mixer until it resembles fine crumbs. Mix in the egg yolks and enough water to mix to a smooth, soft dough. Chill for 15 minutes.
2. Steam the pumpkin for 10-15 minutes over a saucepan of simmering water until tender. Drain and leave to cool then mash or puree in a liquidiser or food processor until smooth. Add the remaining filling ingredients and mix again until smooth.
3. Roll the pastry out thinly on a lightly floured surface, stamp out 12×10cm (4 inch) circles with a plain biscuit cutter, re-rolling the pastry trimmings as needed. Press the pastry circles into the buttered sections of a 12-hole muffin tin. Reserve the trimmings.
4. Pour the pumpkin filling into the pastry cases. Roll the reserved pastry trimmings out thinly, cut into narrow strips with a pastry wheel or knife, brush lightly with milk and arrange as a lattice over the top of the tarts, sticking on to the top edge of the pastry cases with a little milk, and leaving the ends of the lattice a little long. Or cut leaves and arrange on the filling or omit the decoration if preferred.
5. Sprinkle with a little caster sugar and bake in a preheated oven 180C/160F/350F/Gas Mark 4 for 20-25 minutes.
6. Leave to cool for 20 minutes in the tin. Trim off the excess pastry from the lattice, then loosen the edges of the pies with a round bladed knife, lift out of the tin and carefully transfer to a wire rack.
7. Serve warm or cold topped with spoonfuls of whipped cream and a drizzle of Rowse Acacia honey.

More in this series…