Pairs well with Egyptian Pumpkin Pie with Sweet Pumpkin Bechamel and Cheesecake Biscuit Base
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Egyptian Pumpkin Pie with Sweet Pumpkin Bechamel and Cheesecake Biscuit Base
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A winter dessert from Egypt featuring a cooked pumpkin layer topped with a sweet pumpkin-flavored bechamel and a cheesecake biscuit base with coconut and cinnamon, finished with a nut and fruit topping.
00:50:00 total
Serves 8
medium
Dessert Various
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Ingredients
- pumpkin - 2-2.5 kg (peeled and sliced into 1 inch cubes)
- granulated sugar - 500-650 g (used for macerating pumpkin, 1/4 of pumpkin weight)
- walnuts - 140 g (toasted for base)
- digestive biscuits - 500 g (for cheesecake biscuit base)
- unsweetened desiccated coconut - 36 g (6 tbsp) (for base)
- sugar - 50 g (for base)
- flour - 40 g (for base)
- salt - 8 g (1 tsp) (for base)
- ground cinnamon - 2 g (1 tsp) (for base)
- butter - 150 g (melted, for base)
- butter - 135 g (for bechamel)
- flour - 100 g (for bechamel)
- milk - 400 ml (for bechamel)
- pumpkin liquid - 500 ml (reserved liquid from cooked pumpkin, used to sweeten bechamel)
- vanilla bean paste - 1 tsp (optional, for bechamel flavoring)
- heavy cream - 200 ml (for bechamel)
- hazelnuts - 150 g (toasted and roughly chopped for topping)
- sultanas - 50 g (for topping, optional)
- light brown sugar - 25 g (for topping)
- unsweetened desiccated coconut - 1 tbsp (for topping)
- ground cinnamon - 1 g (1/2 tsp) (for topping)
- salt - pinch (pinch for topping)
- butter - 36 g (melted, to bind topping)
Instructions
- Toast Nuts: Toast 140g walnuts for the base and 150g hazelnuts for the topping in the oven at 180°C for 5-10 minutes until golden. Let cool.
- Prepare Biscuit Base: In a food processor, blitz 500g digestive biscuits, cooled toasted walnuts, 40g flour, 50g sugar, 8g salt, 36g unsweetened desiccated coconut, and 2g ground cinnamon until sandy texture. Slowly stream in 150g melted butter until mixture clumps when pressed.
- Form Base in Pan: Line a 10-inch springform pan with parchment paper. Brush pan walls with leftover melted butter. Press half the biscuit base mixture evenly around the sides of the pan to form a thick wall. Press the remaining mixture into the base evenly, filling gaps as needed. Bake at 180°C for 15 minutes. Let cool.
- Macerate Pumpkin: Peel and cube 2-2.5 kg sweet pumpkin into 1-inch pieces. Mix with 500-650g granulated sugar (about 1/4 weight of pumpkin) and leave to macerate overnight to draw out flavor and syrup.
- Cook Pumpkin: Pour pumpkin and syrup into a pan and cook over medium heat, covered, for 15-20 minutes until pumpkin is tender but not mushy. Strain pumpkin, reserving liquid. Measure 500 ml of liquid, topping up with water if needed.
- Make Pumpkin Bechamel: In the same pan, melt 135g butter over medium heat. Add 100g flour and cook for a few minutes until nutty and bubbling, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low and slowly whisk in 400 ml milk until smooth. Gradually whisk in 500 ml pumpkin liquid until fully incorporated. Increase heat and simmer until thickened. Whisk in 200 ml heavy cream and 1 tsp vanilla bean paste (optional) until silky smooth.
- Assemble Pumpkin Layer and Bechamel: Spoon cooked pumpkin into the cooled biscuit base, filling about two-thirds full. Flatten surface slightly. Pour pumpkin bechamel over pumpkin layer, leaving a small gap near the edge. Bake at 180°C for about 30 minutes or until the top is nicely browned.
- Prepare Nut and Fruit Topping: Roughly chop toasted hazelnuts, keeping chunks large. Mix with 50g sultanas, 25g light brown sugar, 1 tbsp unsweetened desiccated coconut, 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, and a pinch of salt. Bind mixture with 36g melted butter and mix well. Let topping set as butter hardens.
- Cool and Serve: Allow the baked dessert to cool for about 1 to 1.5 hours, preferably refrigerate overnight for best slicing. Serve warm or at room temperature with nut and fruit topping sprinkled on or served alongside.
