Ian's Champuru Thanksgiving Pie

This pie is a modified mixture of recipes from Edmond's Cookery Book (the NZ cooking bible) and www.joyofbaking.com. We made it for Thanksgiving on Thursday in place of a pumpkin pie, because there are no pumpkins here right now (out of season perhaps?).

Sweet Shortcrust Pastry
1 and 1/4 cups flour
90g butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg yolk
1 and 1/2 tablespoons water
1/2 cup pecans
1/2 cup crushed gingernut biscuits

Sift flour. Cut in butter until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in sugar. Add egg yolk and water. Mix to stiff dough. Chill for 30 minutes. Toast pecans in oven and chop. Take chilled dough and roll out to line a 30cm pie pan. Press crushed gingernut biscuits and chopped pecans into base and return to refrigerator while making filling.

Filling
3 eggs
2 cups mashed sweet potato
1/2 cup cream
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix all ingredients. Pour filling into pie base and put in preheated 190 degrees C oven for 45 minutes to an hour. Pie is ready when crust browns and knife inserted into the pie comes out almost clean.

Serve with vanilla ice cream.