Spiced Pumpkin Pie

Well, it is Thanksgiving on Thursday, and in honour of my American friends, on both sides of the pond, I thought I'd make good ole pumpkin pie.  I also had half a pumpkin to use up, which was very convenient!  Whilst researching this recipe, I was surprised to find that most Americans use tinned pumpkin puree - what a shame, given its seasonality - indeed, ubiquity - at this time of year.  So, I baked big wedges of the beast and stripped the skin off when cool.  This gave me around 400g of pumpkin flesh, which was pureed in a food processor with 2 eggs, 75 g dark brown muscovado sugar, a scant teaspoon of cinnamon, and around 150ml of cream.  This glowing gold custard was poured into a deep pie dish lined with rich eggy shortcrust pastry, and all was baked until the custard was set and the pastry was crisp and golden.  Just lovely with a blob of whipped cream, and the simple flavours shone through.  Happy Thanksgiving, and let's all count our blessings.