Pumpkin Pie (Video)

 

Pumpkin Pie | AZCookbook.com with Feride Buyuran

Photos: Greg Seber

Time to bake Pumpkin Pie because tis the season! And I have the right recipe for you. This is the result of my yet another obsession to perfect a recipe. A little while ago, I set out on a quest to make the perfect pumpkin pie, which, to me must have a tender yet flaky crust, a creamy yet sturdy filling, and must look pretty, too!

When it comes to pumpkin pie crust, you have two options – either to prebake it or leave it as is before pouring the filling in it and baking. I wanted to try both and see the difference. The crust that I did not prebake turned out ok, but was lightly doughy to my taste. Then, I  I went with prebaking, for which I tested different times and temperatures. The ideal crust was the one which prebaked for only a brief amount of time, before the crust edges had a chance to brown, because they were to brown anyway, while baking with the filling for a long time.

Pumpkin Pie | AZCookbook.com with Feride Buyuran

As to the filling, I tried different variations. With half heavy cream and half milk, with just milk, just white sugar, just brown sugar, a mix of both, with more or less spices added to the filling, and I even experimented with adding a maple syrup. Then I finally decided on the filling you see in the recipe below. I settled on all heavy cream instead of milk or half of each. Worked perfectly!

Pumpkin Pie | AZCookbook.com with Feride Buyuran

Once I had settled on the perfect pumpkin pie recipe, my friend Greg and I filmed it for my YouTube Channel.  I made my pumpkin pie with homemade pumpkin puree. It baked beautifully, yielding a smooth and creamy filling that set nicely and did not crack. I used just the right amount of spices to give me a subtly flavored filling. To make my pumpkin pie look pretty, I baked leaf cutouts and arranged them around the edges of the pie. My pie looked festive and inviting! And very much fitting for celebrations. I hope you make this pumpkin pie a part of your holiday table.

WATCH HOW TO MAKE PUMPKIN PIE:

 

 

Pumpkin Pie
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
You'd love to learn how to make perfect pumpkin pie for your holiday table? With a flaky pie crust and luscious, creamy pumpkin filling that is subtly spiced and amazingly delicious? You are in the right place! Making pumpkin pie from scratch is easier than you think it is! Just follow my recipe. I've tested it multiple times so that you don't have to. And yes, those decorative leaves on the pie - we are making them ourselves, too and it is easy! If you wish to save time and make your pumpkin pie with canned pumpkin, go ahead, it's ok too. The end result will be just that - the best pumpkin pie you have ever made and tried!
Author:
Recipe type: Desserts
Serves: One 9-inch pie
Ingredients
  • Pie Crust & Decorative Leaves
  • 2¾ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup (8 ounces) very cold unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch chunks
  • 7 tablespoons ice cold water
  • Filling
  • 3 large eggs
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • ¼ cup brown sugar
  • 2 cups homemade pumpkin puree (can also use canned)
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ginger powder
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • To Serve:
  • Whipped cream (optional)
Instructions
  1. Prepare the dough: In a large mixing bowl, toss to combine the flour, sugar, and salt. Add the cold butter and quickly cut it with either a pastry blender or rub between your fingers until you obtain pieces about the size of coarse crumbs and small peas. Drizzle the ice cold water on top and stir to mix with your hands until the dough holds together when pinched. The mixture should have a crumbly texture but should not stick to your hands. Transfer the dough onto a clean work surface and knead a few times to incorporate loose pieces of dough. Divide the dough in half, pat each half into a thick disk, and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour or overnight if you will be baking the pie the next day. One of the disks will be the pie crust while the other will be used to create decorative leaves to go on top of the baked pie.
  2. Roll out the pie crust dough: Remove one of the chilled dough circles from the refrigerator. If it is too hard to roll out, let it sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes. It must still be quite cold before you roll it out. Work quickly from now on. Sprinkle some flour on your work surface and rub a rolling pin with flour, too. Using a rolling pin, start rolling out the dough circle, from the center towards the edges, turning the circle from time to time. Make a 12-inch circle. Carefully wrap the circle around the rolling pin and transfer onto a 9-inch pie dish. Press to fit the dough into the dish. Tuck the overhanging dough underneath itself. With your fingers, crimp the dough to create a fluted edge (see video). Cover the dough with plastic wrap and place in the freeze for 30 minutes.
  3. Meanwhile, make decorative leaves: Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Roll out the second dough disk in the same manner and, either using a leaf-shaped cookie cutter or a spoon (see video), cut out leaves from the dough. Place the cut-outs on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake on the middle rack of the oven for 10 to 15 minutes, or until light golden. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
  4. Now, prebake the pie crust: Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Remove the pie crust from the freezer. Crinkle up a piece of parchment paper and place it on the crust. Press onto the parchment to fill the crust, making sure the paper covers the edges of the crust (this will prevent the edges from browning). Fill the pie shell with baking beans (they are going to prevent the pie crust from puffing up while prebaking). Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 15 minutes, or until the bottom of the crust is set and is not doughy any more, and the edges have hardened (but have not browned). Remove from the oven and set aside to cool completely.
  5. Meanwhile, prepare the pie filling: In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs lightly. Add the sugars and whisk a little more. Add the pumpkin puree, heavy creamy, vanilla extract, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. Stir until creamy. Pour the filling into the pie crust.
  6. Bake the pie: Preheat the oven to 350ºC. Bake the pie on the middle rack of the oven until the edges of the filing are set, about 2 inches in towards the center, and the center is only very slightly (!) jiggly when you shake the pie dish, 50 to 60 minutes. (If the edges brown too quickly at some point, cover them with parchment paper or aluminum foil.) Remove the pie from the oven and cool to room temperature. The filling will harden more as the pie cools.
  7. Decorate the pie: Arrange the baked leaves around the edges of the pumpkin pie in a decorative manner.
  8. Serve the pie: Serve when the pie have cooled down or chill in the refrigerator before serving. (Chilling will make make the filling firmer and smoother - my preferred method). If you wish, serve with whipped cream.
 

 

2 Comments

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  1. This pumpkin pie looks awesome! I’m already saving this recipe so I can try it later. Thanks!!

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