Introduction: Hogwarts Express Pumpkin Pasties

"Anything off the trolley, dears?"

If you're a muggle and not lucky enough to delight in the many treats off the Hogwarts Express trolley--Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs, Cauldron Cakes, or Licorice Wands--on the way to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, hope is not completely lost!  Well, unless you have an enchanted Ford Anglia, hope is pretty well lost at getting to Hogwarts.  However, hope still exists for the sweet treats!  Enjoy a Pumpkin Pasty!

Step 1: Pate Brisee

This recipe will give us one 9" crust.  From that, we can use a 4" circle-shaped cookie cutter to get the necessary rounds to make the pasties.

To get a flaky crust, the key is COLD. I refrigerate all of my ingredients, including the flour, salt, and sugar--especially the butter and water need to be COLD. It is also key to work quickly to keep your dough from warming.

(I should mention that many of these pictures for the crust dough are reused from another of my instructables, Night Sky Blueberry Pie, as the ingredients and steps are all the same except doubled. Even when only one 9" crust is needed, I still used the doubled amount, so I have another crust on standby in the refrigerator or freezer.)

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. granulated white sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold and cut into small pieces
1/8 - 1/4 cup ice water

Combine flour, sugar and salt in a food processor (or bowl, if that is what you have to work with). Add butter and pulse to combine until resembles course crumbs, about 10 to 15 seconds (if using bowl, cut the butter in with a pastry blender). Add ice water in a steady stream, starting with just 1/4 cup. Process just until the dough pinches together (crumbs about the size of peas now). If necessary add a little more water until you get to this state. You should not need more than 1/2 cup nor require longer than 30 seconds processing.

Shape the dough into a flattened disc, wrap into plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. (The dough can be frozen for up to a month; thaw overnight in the refrigerator before using.

Step 2: Pumpkin Pie Filling

This is just a recipe for pumpkin pie filling.  If you have preferred recipe, go ahead and use yours instead.

Ingredients:

3 large eggs
2 cups fresh pumpkin puree OR 1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin (fresh pumpkin would be my preferred method, but 'tis not the season)
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
3/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
3/4 tsp. ground allspice
1/4 tsp. ground mace
1/2 tsp. salt (missing in photograph, whoops)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs lightly.  Stir in the pumpkin puree, heavy whipping cream, and light brown sugar, mixing between each addition.  Add the spices and salt and stir to evenly distribute.  Pour the filling into a buttered casserole dish and bake until a toothpick poked into the center comes out clean, about 30 - 40 minutes.

Cool completely.

Step 3: Assembly & Baking

Ingredients:

1 egg, yolk and white separated
1 Tbsp. heavy whipping cream

Take the disc of crust dough out of the refrigerator and roll it out onto your floured work surface until about 12" in diameter. Roll from the center out and rotate your crust quarter turns occasionally to avoid sticking. Using a 4" circle-shaped cookie cutter, cut out as many rounds as you can squeeze out of it and transfer each to wax paper or parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. You can re-roll out your scrap dough to get more rounds, but be aware that over-worked dough can result in toughness. (I managed to get 17 rounds before my dough scraps were snitched.) Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Once the pumpkin pie filling has cooled completely, take the dough out of the refrigerator and drop about a tablespoon of the pumpkin filling into the center of a dough round.  Using your finger or pastry brush, apply a thin coat of egg white to half of the edge of the round (egg white border should be about 1/4") and fold the circle over and press the edges to seal.  The egg white will help to keep the dough closed while baking.  Crimp the edges with a fork to give a final seal.  Set on a parchment-lined cookie sheet, and continue the same way with the rest of your dough rounds.

Lightly whisk together the egg yolk and cream.  Brush the tops and edges of the pasties.  Use a knife or clean razor blade to cut three slits in the tops of each pasty.  Refrigerate for about 30 minutes, and in the meantime, preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.  Bake for about 20 minutes, until golden brown.

Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.  Berries add some nice color.

Enjoy!

Serious Eats Pi Day Pie Contest

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