Usually with an ingredient like pumpkin I would start this post with something like… “Fall is in the air and with the cool air comes the smell of apples, and my very favorite squash, pumpkin, cooking. So what better time to use your dutch oven?” But really, I use my dutch oven all year round, and with not-so-modern technology (like canning) pumpkin is available all year around.
After all, dutch oven cooking was the first off-grid cooking method that I learned. You can read more about getting started with dutch ovens here. (Also read more about cast iron here, here and here).
This recipe is not exactly like the traditional pumpkin pies you might find on a Thanksgiving table. It’s like a pie in that it’s soft and has a pumpkin taste, but it’s got a sort of cakey-bread pudding texture. It’s not exactly a souffle or a pudding and there is no bread in it. It’s definitely a great alternative to traditional pumpkin pie in that you can serve it as a breakfast and kids might like the texture just a bit more than the regular pumpkin pie. Yes, it’s kind of hard to describe. All I can say is that it tastes great! So invite a neighbor over and stand by the warm coals and visit while this pumpkiny dish cooks up in your dutch oven.
Dutch Oven Pumpkin Pie
2 1/4 c Soft White Wheat (you can use all-purpose four or cake flour)
1 3/4 c Sugar
3 1/2 t Baking Powder
1 t Salt
4 Eggs
3/4 c Coconut Oil (you can use butter)
1 30oz can Pumpkin (you can use fresh, frozen or home canned just make sure it’s well packed and/or very well drained)
3 t Pumpkin Spice
1 c Milk
3/4 c Brown Sugar (I like dark brown for this)
1 t Cinnamon
Start with a 10 in dutch oven. Mix the flour, 1 3/4 c sugar, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. Measure out 1 cup and set aside (this will be for the topping). Mix the larger flour mixture with 1 beaten egg and 1/2 c melted coconut oil. Place the mixture in the bottom of the dutch oven, spreading it out and pressing it down to cover the entire bottom of the oven. In another bowl mix the pumpkin, 3 eggs, pumpkin spice, milk and brown sugar together. Pour into the dutch oven on top of the flour mixture layer. Then take the remaining flour mixture and mix with cinnamon and coconut oil forming a crust (it will be similar to a cobbler crust). Place on top of the pumpkin mixture in the dutch oven.
Place 9 coals on the bottom and 10 coals on the top.
Bake for about 30 minutes…
…or until slightly brown on the top.
Yum!
