Pumpkin Chiffon Pie

I had to make this after reading the glowing reviews, and I was not disappointed. I made the recipe almost exactly (to the gram) following the directions, with only one change (see below).

As usual, Rose provides incredible detail, and although it takes more time than whipping up a standard pumpkin pie, the result is more than worth it.

I used gingersnaps (Anna's brand) for the crust, with pecans. My mother-in-law told me this was the best pie she'd ever had.

Note: my one change was that I heated the egg whites for the chiffon, using the 'new safe meringue' technique worked out by Alice Medrich, but using the quantities here rather than the ones in the technique I linked to, and not bothering with the cream of tartar.

Loved this pie! When I saw the quanities of salt and nutmeg, I had my doubts, but the flavor of this pie is sublime.

I made it a day ahead of serving and so used 75% of the gelatin/water as per the instructions in the beginning of the chiffon chapter. The texture was ethereal and light, just holding its shape for cutting.

I wanted a prettier presentation than I normally get with a crumb crust, so instead of the gingersnap crust I used the sweet nut cookie crust, using pecans for the nuts, brown sugar for the sugar, and adding a little ginger. It went well with the filling but wasn't as flavorful as a good gingersnap.

The whipped cream and pecans in the photo are from the back section of the book, I've linked to those reviews.

Light as a feather, and with a wonderful pumpkin flavor. This is a somewhat involved recipe - you cook the pumpkin twice, beat egg whites, but really none of the steps are too difficult. The result is amazing.

A few notes - I measured the gelatin using the ounce units on my kitchen scale - but it measures in 1/2 ounce increments. I should instead have used grams units (both weights are given), as this would have given me finer control.

Also - its dangerous to slice it so you can review the recipe before dinner. Only two of us are at home, and the pie is more than 1/3 gone.

This is not the creamy custard of the traditional pumpkin pie, but I love it just as much. In fact, before I read this cookbook, I didn't realize I wanted to know how to make chiffon pies. Now I want to try all the recipes.

The instructions were so detailed, it was easy to know that I was on the right track. And I love that this cookbook tells us why you do each step.