Pumpkin Chiffon Pie

Third week of December. Five days to Nochebuena. The pasteles are essentially done — I made the last eight on Monday and Tuesday night, which brings me to seventy-two, with a two-pasteles safety margin, exactly where I want to be — and now the work shifts to the other dishes.

Wednesday I made arroz con dulce. The three-hour rice pudding. Abuela Consuelo's recipe. The one Luz María taught me the winter I was twenty-two and visiting from UPR. The one that requires constant stirring because the coconut milk and sugar and rice will scorch the second you turn your back, and scorched arroz con dulce cannot be rescued. You start over. I have started over twice in my life. I was distracted both times. I have been very attentive ever since.

The process: rice soaked in water with cinnamon sticks and cloves and ginger for two hours. Drained. Cooked low and slow in coconut milk with sugar, raisins, a pinch of salt, for nearly two hours of stirring, until the rice has broken down and absorbed everything, until the texture is somewhere between pudding and polenta, until you can draw a spoon across the bottom of the pot and see the bottom for a moment before the rice closes back over it. Poured into a shallow dish. Sprinkled heavily with ground cinnamon. Cooled. Cut into squares. Served cold.

I did three hours at the stove, standing the whole time, stirring with a long-handled wooden spoon. The radio was on. I listened to Villancicos — Puerto Rican Christmas carols — and I thought about Abuela Consuelo, who made this dish every Christmas of my childhood and who died in 1991 and who has been gone for thirty-one years and who is still in the pot. She is in the pot. She taught this to my mother, who taught it to me, and I am in the pot too. And someday I will teach it to Sofía or to Camila or to a granddaughter not yet born, and all of us will be in the pot, all of the Delgado and Ortiz women, the chain simmering.

Eduardo came into the kitchen at hour two and said, "How is it?" I said, "Do not talk to me, Eduardo." He understood. He backed out of the kitchen. He came back at hour three with a glass of water for me. He set it on the counter and left without speaking. This is marriage. Marriage is the man who understands when not to speak.

Mami ate a square on Thursday night and said, "Your grandmother's was smoother." I said, "I know, Mami." She said, "But this is close." Which is the highest praise she has given me all year. Wepa.

Friday Miguel Jr. came over with Lucas. Lucas ate three squares. He said, "Abuela, this is better than ice cream." I said, "Mijo, everything I make is better than ice cream." He considered this. He said, "Yes." Wepa.

Standing at that stove for three hours, breathing in cinnamon and cloves and ginger, those spices get into your skin, into your hair, into your dreams. They are the smell of every Nochebuena I have ever known. So when I wanted something else to bring to Miguel Jr.’s house on Christmas Day — something beyond the arroz con dulce and the pasteles — I reached for those same spices again. This pumpkin chiffon pie carries all that warmth but lifts it into something light, almost airy, the way the house feels after the cooking is finally done and the family starts arriving.

Prep Time: 30 minutes | Cook Time: 0 minutes (no-bake filling) | Total Time: 4 hours 30 minutes (includes chilling) | Servings: 8

Ingredients

1 (9-inch) graham cracker crust, baked and cooled
1 envelope (1/4 oz) unflavored gelatin
1/4 cup cold water
3 large eggs, separated
3/4 cup granulated sugar, divided
1 1/4 cups canned pumpkin puree
1/2 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons powdered sugar

Instructions

Bloom the gelatin. Sprinkle gelatin over 1/4 cup cold water in a small bowl. Let stand 5 minutes until softened.
Cook the pumpkin base. In a medium saucepan, whisk together egg yolks, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, pumpkin puree, milk, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens slightly and reaches 160°F, about 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from heat.
Dissolve the gelatin. Stir the softened gelatin into the hot pumpkin mixture until completely dissolved. Transfer to a large bowl and refrigerate, stirring occasionally, until the mixture mounds slightly when dropped from a spoon, about 30 to 45 minutes.
Whip the egg whites. In a clean bowl, beat egg whites with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining 1/4 cup granulated sugar, beating until stiff, glossy peaks form.
Fold together. Gently fold the whipped egg whites into the chilled pumpkin mixture in three additions, folding just until no white streaks remain.
Fill the crust. Pour the chiffon filling into the prepared graham cracker crust, mounding it slightly in the center. Refrigerate until firm, at least 3 hours or overnight.
Top with cream. Just before serving, whip the heavy cream with powdered sugar until soft peaks form. Spread or pipe over the pie. Dust lightly with extra ground cinnamon if desired.

Nutrition (per serving)

Pumpkin Chiffon Pie — The Spices That Keep Us Stirring