Life of Pumpkin Pie (aka Tiger Pumpkin Pie)

To celebrate Pi Day this year I opted for a pumpkin variety of pie, but took it one step further: tiger stripes. Yes, I'm referring to Yann Martel's book-cum-movie, "Life of Pi". I don't have a pastry chef's flair for presentation, unfortunately. I'd love to see if this can actually look like tiger stripes. If you try it, please share pictures of your attempt!

Gather the ingredients:

• 1 9" pie crust (see Step 2 for a recipe... or get one from the store)

Filling:

• 1 can (18 ounces or 540 ml) pumpkin pie filling*
• 1/3 cup evaporated milk
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ginger
• 1/8 tsp allspice

* your can of pumpkin may have a different recipe, feel free to use that... I won't judge.

Topping/Tiger Stripes:

• 7 tablespoons all purpose flour, plus more for rolling
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 1 medium egg
• 1/8 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon icing sugar, for dusting

(Skip this step if you already have a pie crust)

Sift together 6 cups all purpose flour, 1 tablespoon white sugar and 2 teaspoons salt. Cut in 1 pound Tenderflake lard (cubed and chilled) and 1/2 cup butter (also cubed and chilled) with a pastry cutter or a pair of butter knives. Once the mixture is crumbly, slowly mix in 1 cup of cold water and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice until the mixture forms a ball. Be careful not to over mix. Divide into four portions. Roll each into a ball, wrap with saran wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Store the unused dough in the freezer for up to 2 months.

When ready to make pie, roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface until it's slightly larger than the pie tin. Carefully lift it into the tin. Lift the edges so that the dough fills the corners. With a sharp and damp knife, cut off the excess dough. Pinch the edges as you'd like for decorative effect.

Preheat oven to 425˚F.

Put aluminum foil over the pie crust, ensuring to cover the edges. Fill to the brim with pie weights, dry beans or pennies. Bake for 10-15 minutes until the crust looks just golden.

Carefully remove the pie weights. Return the crust to the oven for 5 minutes so that the bottom can cook a bit more.

Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes.

Lower the oven's heat to 350˚F.

In a medium bowl, stir together the pumpkin pie filling, evaporated milk, eggs, cinnamon, salt, ginger and allspice. Mix until smooth. Pour into the prepared pie crust.

In a medium bowl, sift together the all purpose flour, cocoa powder, sugar and baking powder. In a separate bowl mix the vegetable oil, egg and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir together. The mixture might be a bit moist, but should still form into a ball. Roll out onto a lightly floured surface to about 1/8" thick. Using a very sharp knife, cut tiger-like stripes. Place the stripes on top of the pumpkin filling.

Bake for 25-30 minutes in the 350˚F oven. When done, allow to cool completely, then sprinkle the part not covered by stripes with icing sugar to look like a tiger's tummy. Serve and enjoy.