Puerto Rican Pumpkin Pie that is prepared from scratch with fresh cooked Caribbean pumpkin (Calabaza) for the pie filling coupled with a homemade flaky pie crust. I order the pumpkin seeds from Puerto Rico to grow my own Caribbean pumpkins in the Midwest. The pumpkins are also sold whole or in wedges at the Latin Market.
A Little Bit of Food History!
The Caribbean pumpkins are also known as West Indian Pumpkin. Furthermore, the Taíno Indians cultivated the West Indian Pumpkins. The flesh is firm and bright orange. It has a sweet flavor similar to the butternut squash. The West Indian Pumpkin is a round or oblong squash that is popular in the Caribbean, Central and South America. In addition, the color of the skin can vary and can include green, orange and tan hues.
Caribbean pumpkin growing in my backyard! Click on the link to Learn How to Grow West Indian Pumpkins!
Mixing the Ingredients for Pie Crust!
In a bowl, mix 1½ cups all-purpose pre-sifted flour along with ½ teaspoon lite salt. Mix well with a whisk.
Add 1 stick of unsalted chilled butter cut into small cubes.
Coat the butter with the flour to minimize gluten formation for a flaky crust texture.
With a pastry blender, cut the butter into flour mixture until it has a coarse meal texture with small pieces of butter.
This is the right consistency that we are looking for. You can see the small bits of butter.
Kneading the Dough!
I filled a small bowl with water and several ice cubes. Add 3 tablespoons of chilled water to the flour mixture.
Knead the dough gently until it just holds together. If the dough is too dry or crumbly, then add more water. If the dough is too wet, add more flour. Make sure to use one tablespoon at a time for the water or the flour. For this recipe, I normally use 3 to 4 tablespoons of chilled water.
The dough is ready when you can press the dough, and it holds together into a clump.
Forming and Refrigerating the Dough!
Place the dough on countertop and shape the dough into a ball. Don’t worry if the dough appears dry or crumbly because once we allow the dough to rest, the moisture will distribute throughout the dough making it easier to handle.
Once the dough is shaped into a ball, flatten dough into a disk with your hands or fingers. You can still see the pieces of butter in the dough.
Cover with plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to chill.
Making the Caribbean Pumpkin Pie Filling!
Add the dry ingredients into a bowl: ¾ cup sugar, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground ginger, ¼ teaspoon ground cloves, and ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg.
Stir the ingredients until well blended.
Add 2 large beaten eggs and 1½ cups of cooked mashed Caribbean pumpkin (Calabaza).
NOTE: Click on the link to learn How to Cut, Peel, Cook and Packaging West Indian Pumpkin
Pour ½ cup skim milk or the milk of your preference.
Mix all the ingredients until well blended. We just finished preparing the pumpkin pie filling.
Rolling Out the Chilled Dough!
Preheat oven to 425°F. Place chilled dough on a lightly floured pastry mat or countertop.
NOTE: If the dough is too hard to roll, then allow the dough to rest for a few minutes.
Dust your rolling pin with flour. Since I am going to use a standard 9-inch pie pan, then roll out the dough into a 12-inch circle about ⅛-inch thick. Turn the dough over several times and continue rolling.
Once the dough is completely rolled out, transfer dough onto a 9-inch pie pan by placing the rolling pin on the edge of the pastry.
Carefully roll up the dough.
Place the dough on the edge of pie pan.
Unroll dough onto pie pan and straighten out any ripples in the dough.
Prepping and Crimping the Pie Crust!
Lightly lift the edges of pastry from the sides and gently fit the dough into the shape of the pie pan without stretching the dough. It is important not to stretch the dough because it will shrink during baking.
Since I prefer the fluted edges, I will trim the overhang to measure at least 1-inch from the rim of pie plate with kitchen scissor.
If you find a spot that the dough is torn or too thin, then use the leftover dough scrap to patch the area.
The next step is to fold the overhang under itself to create a thick border. Repeat this process around the edges of pie crust.
We just completed folding the overhang and now we are ready to crimp the pie crust.
To crimp the pie crust, use your knuckle on one hand, and press the dough between the index finger and thumb of your other hand.
I love the fluted edges because it will add a decorative touch to the pie. Repeat this process. Place the pie crust in the refrigerator to chill for 15 to 30 minutes.
NOTE: Chilling the pie crust before baking will solidify the butter to create a flaky crust.
Adding the Pie Filling for the Puerto Rican Pumpkin Pie!
Prepare the egg wash by beating one whole egg with 1 tablespoon of water.
Remove the chilled pie crust from the refrigerator. Brush the chilled pie crust with the egg wash for a shiny and golden crust. I like to apply the egg wash on the bottom, sides and top of inside crust.
I even apply a small amount of the egg wash on the outer top of pie crust.
NOTE: I never had a problem with a soggy dough since the pie will be baked within a few minutes.
The last step is to pour the pumpkin pie mixture into the chilled pie crust.
Baking the Puerto Rican Pumpkin Pie!
Place in oven for 15 to 20 minutes at 425°F to set the crust. After 20 minutes of baking, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F and continue baking for an additional 40 – 50 minutes.
NOTE: Place a pie crust shield or aluminum foil around the edges after 20 miutes of baking to prevent the crust from over browning.
Puerto Rican Pumpkin Pie!
The pumpkin pie is ready after 50 minutes of baking at 350″F. The flaky crust has a golden color and as the pie cools, the center of the pie will continue to get firm.
NOTE: I like to refrigerate the pumpkin pie for 4 hours before serving to create a firmer creamy texture.
Enjoy this delicious and creamy Puerto Rican Pumpkin Pie, bursting with rich pumpkin flavor along with a homemade flaky pie crust.
Click on the button below to watch my YouTube Video on How to Prepare Caribbean Pumpkin Pie!
Recipe and Nutritional Facts!
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. Please refer to our Nutritional Facts Disclaimer for more information.
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Puerto Rican Pumpkin Pie (Pastel de Calabaza)
- Prep Time: 30 Minutes
- Cook Time: 1 Hour 10 Minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
- Yield: 8 Servings 1x
Description
Enjoy this delicious and creamy Caribbean Pumpkin Pie, bursting with rich pumpkin flavor along with a homemade flaky crust!
Ingredients
Pie Crust:
- 1½ cups all-purpose pre-sifted flour
- ½ teaspoon salt (low sodium)
- 1 stick chilled unsalted butter (4 ounces), cut into small cubes
- 3 to 4 tablespoons chilled ice water
Pumpkin Pie Filling:
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 large beaten eggs
- 1½ cups Caribbean pumpkin, cooked and mashed
- ½ cup skim milk or milk of your preference
Egg Wash
- 1 whole egg
- 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
- In a bowl, add the flour and salt. With a whisk, stir well.
- Add the butter into flour mixture. Coat the butter with flour. With a pastry blender, cut the butter thoroughly into flour mixture until it has a coarse meal texture.
- Pour the chilled water. Knead the dough until it holds together.
- Shape dough into a ball and then flatten into a disk. Cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for 30 minutes to chill.
- In a bowl, add the first five dry ingredients for the pie filling. Stir well.
- Pour the beaten eggs, pumpkin and milk into the dry ingredients. Stir until a creamy texture is formed and set aside.
- Remove dough from refrigerator and place on a pastry mat or countertop lightly floured. Roll out dough into a 12-inch circle if using a 9-inch pie plate.
- Transfer dough onto a 9-inch pie plate, rolling dough onto a rolling pin and unrolling onto the pie pan.
- lightly lift the edges of pastry from the sides, and gently fit the dough into the shape of the pie pan (on the sides) without stretching the dough.
- Trim off the excess dough that hangs over the rim of pie plate to measure 1 inch. Set aside the excess dough.
- Fold the overhang under itself to create a border.
- Crimp the pie crust (fluted edges) by using your knuckle on one hand, and press the dough between the index finger and thumb of your other hand. Repeat this process around the edges.
- Chill the pie crust for 15 to 30 minutes before applying the egg wash. Preheat oven to 425°F.
- For the egg wash, beat egg and water. Brush a thin coat of egg wash to the entire pie crust, including the top outer crust.
- Pour the pumpkin pie filling into the pie crust. Place in oven for 15 to 20 minutes at 425°F to set the crust.
- After baking for 15 to 20 minutes, place a pie crust shield or aluminum foil around the pie crust edges to prevent from over browning.
- Reduce oven temperature to 350°F and bake for an additional 40 to 50 minutes until the center of pie has a jello consistency.
- Remove pumpkin pie shield and place pie on rack to cool before serving. I like to refrigerate the pie for 4 hours after it cools to create a firmer creamy texture.
- Serve with whip cream on top of each slice of pumpkin pie.
Notes
If you stretch the pie crust, it will shrink during baking.
- Category: Desserts
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Puerto Rican
Keywords: Puerto Rican Pumpkin Pie, pumpkin pie, pastel de calabaza, pay de calabaza, calabaza
