Pumpkin Spice Latte Chiffon Pie

While I was making the Pum-conut Pie last week, this pie came into my imagination.  My mother makes an exceptional Pumpkin Chiffon Pie.  The one year that she didn't make it for Thanksgiving, it didn't really feel like Thanksgiving, and being the ungrateful jerk that I am: I told her so.

Last year, when I made all the pies for Thanksgiving, I knew that I needed to get the recipe from her.  There were only three changes to her recipe to make it a Pumpkin Spice Latte Chiffon Pie, and that was to swap the 1/4 cup of water with 3 shots of espresso from Starbucks, I substituted my blend of spices for the tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice, and I also modified the whipped cream to have it be a little more enduring than plain whipped cream.

Ingredients:

1 envelope of unflavored gelatin

3 shots of Starbucks espresso

3 eggs, separated

3/4 cup of brown sugar

1 1/3 cups of pumpkin

1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon of allspice

1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon of mace

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1/2 cup of milk

1/4 teaspoon of cream of tartar

6 tablespoons of granulated sugar

1 cup of heavy whipping cream

1 packet of Whip it

1 packet of vanilla sugar

Directions:
Soften gelatin in cold espresso.  Beat egg yolks; add brown sugar, pumpkin, spices, and salt.  Mix well.  Stir in milk.  Cook over medium heat, stirring, until it begins to boil.  Cook for 2 minutes, continuing the stir.  Remove from heat; add gelatin; mix.  Cool.  Add cream of tartar to egg whites; beat until fluffy.  Gradually add granulated sugar, beating until stiff, but not dry.  Without washing beaters, beat pumpkin mixture until smooth.  Gently fold in egg whites.  Pour into a blind-baked crust; chill.  Beat whipped cream with Whip it and vanilla sugar until you get stiff peaks.  Spread over filling and sprinkle with pumpkin pie spice, or a mixture of half the quantities of the spices used in the recipe.

This pie tastes better than a Pumpkin Spice Latte at Starbucks.  There is something about the latte that tastes a little soapy or cosmetic to me.  That is not found in this pie at all.  The espresso is noticeable, but not over powering, and provides a nice contrast to the other flavors in the pie.  This pie, however, is very rich and should be cut into eight slices instead of six.

WARNING:  If you eat this pie in public, you may be mobbed by twenty-somethings wearing Ugg boots, chunky sweaters, and tights as pants.

Piece out!
Justin