Unless you have the metabolism of a toddler,
you probably fall asleep after Thanksgiving dinner. When dessert
is called, most adults don’t stir for several minutes. That yearly
slice of pumpkin pie barely seems worth the trouble of moving
to the table, even to a card-carrying sweet tooth like myself.
I figured it was one of those semi-edible holiday concepts. Just
as most chocolate Easter bunnies are hollow and taste like wax,
I thought pumpkin pie would always be watery and over-spiced,
with a soggy crust and an un-photogenic crack in its center.
Then I did some research.
Many Brooklyn bakeries and recipes later, I’ve concluded that
tradition has been holding us back.
The first glimmer I had of a more exhilarating pumpkin pie was
not inspired by pumpkin pie at all. I was in Mama Duke’s, a new
Southern takeout spot in Prospect Heights. The menu read "Sweet
Potato Pie: Made from scratch with whipped potatoes and just
the right spices." It looked like pumpkin pie, but "just
the right spices" piqued my interest, so I struck up a conversation
with owner Janice Combs.
"Well," she nodded, "some people think sweet potato
pie tastes like pumpkin pie, but it’s completely different."
Still suspicious that it would spoil the minimal appetite I have
for pumpkin pie, I wanted to know why it was completely different.
"Oh I don’t give out the recipe," Janice told me firmly.
Just then, the man next to me left the store with the last piece.
When I came back I had a mission – not just to taste that sweet
potato pie, but to glean from the experience something I could
apply to my own Thanksgiving dessert. This time, I got a slice
($2.50) and dove in while walking down Flatbush.
Instead of the dusty cinnamon flavor and grainy consistency I
expect from pumpkin pie filling, the whipped sweet potato was
airier, softer and more finely textured, with a spicy kick. This
pie had a sweet flavor, but you could still tell that it was
made from a vegetable. The browned, flaky butter crust was a
salty, crunchy counterpoint to the filling. Altogether, it completely
blocked out the roar of traffic and the biting wind. This pie
($12) would rouse the relatives beached in the living room, bring
them back to the dining room, and have them asking for seconds.
Of course, it’s hard to introduce innovation into time-honored
rituals like Thanksgiving. Traditionalists may refuse to even
try sweet potato pie (and while the differences are not immediately
visible, far be it for me to recommend duping your family and
friends!). Still, most pumpkin pies could use a wake-up call,
and in this department, Brooklyn’s shops and cooks are teeming
with inspiration.
As it turns out, local bakeries receive scores of advance orders
for pumpkin pies each Thanksgiving, so obviously they’re doing
something right. I was on Court Street when I discovered that
not all classic pumpkin pies are disappointing.
Before press time, Sweet Melissa Patisserie in Boerum Hill had
received almost 800 orders for their dense, intriguingly spiced
pies. (Six-inch pies are $14, and 9-inch pies are $19. They will
continue taking orders until Nov. 20.) The ovens and bakers in
their 5-foot by 7-foot kitchen will be pulling some all-nighters
before turkey day.
For every classic pie, there’s a pastry chef who composes variations
on the theme. Further down Court Street, the 9-inch pumpkin tart
at new gourmet shop Tuller ($25) is pumpkin pie Frenchified –
somewhat more refined in texture and flatter. The filling glistens
in a short-fluted tart crust.
Four stops away on the F train, the pumpkin mousse tarts ($7-$20)
at Two Little Red Hens, on Eighth Avenue in Park Slope, are tall
and ethereal, since mousse is whipped, unlike the standard custard
base.
Of course, not all pumpkin makes its way into pies and tarts.
Some of it ends up in Two Little Red Hens’ tempting pumpkin harvest
cake ($9-$34) with pumpkin cream cheese frosting. This pumpkin
spice cake, festooned with pumpkin-flavored frosting leaves,
makes a perfect base for candles, if you happen to know any Thanksgiving
babies!
If you’re a cheesecake lover, you’ve probably already ordered
an 8-inch pumpkin cheesecake ($34.50) from Junior’s in Downtown
Brooklyn.
For a dessert that will jockey with the turkey for supremacy,
put in a call to Boerum Hill custom cake baker Cheryl Kleinman.
This year, she’s created a three-dimensional pumpkin made of
pumpkin spice cake and covered in marzipan, with acorns and sugar
leaves tossed against the bottom, as if by an autumnal gust of
wind. This great pumpkin, set upon a fabric-covered board, is
called for when presentation matters as much as taste. Kleinman’s
light yet moist layered pumpkin spice cake has walnuts, raisins
and vanilla buttercream filling inside its orange marzipan icing.
(This cake, which feeds six to eight people, is $45.)
Making your own
Where flavor is concerned, Brooklyn’s bakeries taught me that
delicious pumpkin pie is simply a matter of updating the recipe.
First, bypass pre-spiced pie filling and start with organic,
pure pumpkin puree. Or use a fresh sugar pumpkin, (available
at local Greenmarkets and many produce shops) which will give
the pie a more delicate flavor.
Roast and mash the pumpkin, then let it drain overnight in a
cheesecloth-lined sieve in the fridge. You could sneak in some
mashed sweet potato too – it has a lighter, smoother texture.
Combine your puree with cream. Recipes calling for condensed
milk are a holdover from times of scarcity – cream has a more
luxurious flavor.
As for adding "just the right spices," buy them fresh
and whole whenever possible and toast and grind them right before
using. The essential oils in old, ground spices will have deteriorated,
taking their flavor with them. Modest amounts of fresh cinnamon,
nutmeg, cloves, ginger and even white pepper will give the filling
an interesting flavor without overwhelming the pumpkin.
Andrea Lekberg, the pastry chef at Sweet Melissa’s, adds a bit
of cardamom as well. She sweetens the filling with brown and
white sugars, giving the pie a caramel taste. If you prefer to
de-emphasize the spices, you could also add flavors like vanilla
or maple syrup, which make a subtle yet welcome difference.
To really wake folks up after Thanksgiving dinner, present your
pie with as much pomp and circumstance as you might a 20-pound
turkey. Jennifer Baron at A Cook’s Companion in Cobble Hill recommends
using a leaf-shaped cookie cutter to make a pastry border around
the filling. If you purchase a crust, cut the leaves from the
base of another crust, otherwise make 1-1/2 times your pastry
recipe. In either case, brush the inside of the crust with egg
white to keep it from getting soggy.
And to avoid that unsightly crack, Lekberg stresses that the
pie must be baked at a low temperature – so set the heat lower
than called for if your oven runs hot.
Whether you serve a homemade or a purchased dessert, jazzy accompaniments
will liven things up faster than a marching band. Buy granny
Smith ice cream or clotted cream with brandy (both available
at Tuller), or lightly flavor your whipped cream or creme fraiche
with a bit of cinnamon and nutmeg. Sprinkle on diced, candied
ginger for garnish.
When dessert is delicious enough to follow up one of the year’s
best – and biggest – meals, it should be presented accordingly.
Be it the same pie you always make, perhaps with some sweet potato
or white pepper thrown in for good measure, or a multiple dessert
platter in burnished pumpkin tones, show off the last course
of the feast on a sideboard or other prominent (pet-proof!) place.
A tantalizing display will serve as a festive decoration and
an appetizer, calling out: "Save room for dessert!"
Zoe Singer writes about food and can usually be found doing research
at one of Brooklyn’s many bakeries.
Shopping for great desserts
A Cook’s Companion
152 Atlantic Ave. at Clinton Street; (718) 852-6901
Cheryl Kleinman
448 Atlantic Ave. at Bond Street; (718) 237-2271
Junior’s
386 Flatbush Avenue Extension at DeKalb Avenue; (718) 852-5257
Mama Duke Southern Cuisine
243 Flatbush Ave. at Bergen Street, (718) 857-8700
Sweet Melissa Patisserie
276 Court St. at Douglass Street; (718) 855-3410
Tuller Premium Food
199 Court St. at Bergen Street; (718) 222-9933
Two Little Red Hens Bakery
1112 Eighth Ave. at 11th Street; (718) 499-8108
