A delicious fail-proof recipe for pumpkin pie. Easily made a day or two ahead of time this pumpkin pie recipe is the best! Perfect for Thanksgiving dessert.
Growing up we never had pumpkin pie, we always had an English version of Thanksgiving. Often we saw Apple Pie, Sticky Toffee Pudding, Trifle or Bread & Butter Pudding after our feast. It hasn't been until recent years that I enjoy pumpkin pie. And pecan pie desserts for that matter. Try my pecan pie cheesecake, its delicious!!
I prefer it right out of the fridge, chilled and smooth. Of course, with a big dollop of whipped cream. The recipe base comes from Cooks Illustrated- I have tweaked the recipe to my liking, changing/ adjusting some of the ingredients.
I never would have thought of adding sweet potatoes but dang its good! Make sure you drain the yams, they really enhance the pumpkin flavor. Kind of like how
How do you make homemade pumpkin pie?
Pumpkin pie is quite easy to make- you can, of course, make a homemade crust or you can use store-bought for an even quicker recipe. To prepare the pumpkin pie filling we will first cook the pumpkin with some sugar, spices and the candied yams. Then add a custard mixture to the pumpkin. But first, let's start with the crust.
For a plain custard pie check out my egg custard pie recipe.
Do you bake the crust first for pumpkin pie?
We par-bake the crust. You want to bake the crust until the halfway point- this ensures that the custard pumpkin filling does not make the crust soggy.
Roll your pie crust on to a 9-inch pie dish. Create a design if desired and prick all over with a fork. You can check out my Brown Butter Pie Crust Recipe for some more crust details.
Place the pie dish in the fridge to chill while you preheat the oven to 400F/205C. Cover pie with a piece of foil loosely tucked in and place pie weights, dried beans, or rice on top of the foil to prevent the crust from rising. Bake for 15 minutes, then gently remove foil and pie weights and bake for an additional 5 minutes. The pie will still be very pale, set aside.
What is pumpkin pie filling made of?
Most often recipes call for sweetened condensed milk or evaporated milk. Not here. We create a custard with eggs, egg yolks, heavy cream, and milk. Of course pumpkin and the candied yams.
While the crust is baking in a large bowl whisk together heavy cream, milk, whole eggs, egg yolks, and vanilla extract. Set aside.
In a large pot over medium-high heat add the pumpkin puree, cut up sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie spices, and granulated sugar.
You can totally make your own blend of pumpkin pie spice at home with spices you probably already have in your cupboard! Check out my recipe for homemade pumpkin pie spice.
Cook for 5 minutes stirring and use a potato masher to mash the sweet potatoes down. The mixture should be "spitting" it will be very hot, lower the temperature to medium and continue cooking for 15 minutes until the mixture is cohesive, thick and shiny.
Take the pot off of the heat, let cool for 5 minutes then add the cream mixture. Mix until fully combined.
Then place a sieve over a bowl ( I like to use a bowl with a pour spout) and pour the pumpkin pie filling through the sieve this will catch any lumps.
Your crust should be done at this point so pour the pumpkin pie filling into the crust and place the dish on a baking sheet. With the oven still at 400F bake for 10 minutes then reduce the temperature to 300F and bake for an additional 30-40 minutes.
I like to use my thermapen mk4 to check that the pie is ready, the filling should register to 175F. I then turn the oven off and prop the door open with a wooden spoon. So the pie can cool down slowly- this helps prevents cracks.
★★★★★ Please let me know if you make this recipe by leaving a star rating and comment below!
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How To Make Pumpkin Pie
A delicious fail-proof recipe for pumpkin pie. Easily made a day or two ahead of time this pumpkin pie recipe is the best! Perfect for Thanksgiving dessert.
- Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
- Yield: 8 Slices 1x
Ingredients
- 1- 9 inch pie crust
- 3 Large Eggs
- 2 Large Egg Yolks
- 1 ½ Teaspoon Pure Vanilla extract
- 5oz Milk
- 7oz Heavy Cream
- 15oz Pure Pumpkin Pure
- 15oz Candied Yams, drained
- 150 grams (¾ cup) Granulated Sugar
- 2oz (¼ cup) Pure Maple Syrup
- 1 Tablespoon + 1 Teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice
- 1 Teaspoon Salt
Instructions
- Roll your pie crust on to a 9-inch pie dish. Create a design if desired and prick all over with a fork. Place pie dish in the fridge to chill while you preheat the oven to 400F/205C. Cover pie with a pie of foil loosely tucked in and place pie weights, dried beans or rice on top of the foil to prevent the crust from rising. Bake for 15 minutes, then gently remove foil and pie weights and bake for an additional 5 minutes. The pie will still be very pale, set aside.
- While pie is baking in a large bowl whisk together heavy cream, milk, whole eggs, egg yolks, and vanilla extract. Set aside.
- In a large pot over medium- high heat add the pumpkin puree, cut up sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie spices, maple syrup, and granulated sugar. Cook for 5 minutes stirring and use a potato masher to mash the sweet potatoes down. The mixture should be "spitting" it will be very hot, lower the temperature to medium and continue cooking for 15 minutes until the mixture is cohesive, thick and shiny.
- Take the pot off of the heat, let cool for 5 minutes then add the cream mixture. Mix until fully combined. Then place a sieve over a bowl ( I like to use a bowl with a pour spout) and pour the pumpkin pie filling through the sieve this will catch any lumps.
- Your crust should be done at this point so pour the pumpkin pie filling into the crust and place the pie dish on a baking sheet. With oven still at 400F/205C bake for 10 minutes then reduce the temperature to 300F/148C and bake for an additional 30-40 minutes. I like to use my Thermapen mk4 to check that the pie is ready, the filling should register to 175F/79C. I then turn the oven off and prop the door open with a wooden spoon. So the pie can cool down slowly- this helps prevents cracks.
- Chill the pie in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight. Serve with whipped cream.
Notes
- Recipe adapted from: Cooks Illustrated
- The great thing about this pie is that you can make it the day or two before you want to serve it. I would wait to place the whipped cream on the day you are serving it. But you could totally make the whipped cream ahead of time as well. Check out my post on How to Make Stabilized Whipped Cream.
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 65
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Emily Nelson says
So it looks like you’ve reduced the milk and cream in this recipe. How does that affect the texture? I love the cooks illustrated version for the smoothness and flavor. But I’m looking for more firmness. That almost chewy texture of a store bought Marie Callender’s pie. I can’t figure out how to get that texture. I tried adding some cornstarch and some gelatin but still am not getting the result I’m after. Would love to hear any ideas you might have. Thanks!
Elizabeth Waterson says
Hi Emily, thanks for reaching out. I found reducing the liquids fit into the pie shell better and a little thicker filling which I personally like. I don't recall ever trying Marie Callender's pumpkin pie so I am not too sure about the texture or how to replicate it. I am sorry I don't have a better answer for you!! Let me know if I can help with anything else or if you find out how to replicate it!! XX Liz
Elizabeth Waterson says
Emily this recipe might be good? https://polishhousewife.com/marie-callendars-pumpkin-pie-recipe/ XX Liz