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.

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.

If a pie isn't your thing I adore my Pumpkin Cheesecake Recipe or Pumpkin Creme Brulee. Or if you're looking for an apple pie try my Dutch Apple Pie.

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.

Can I make pumpkin pie ahead of time?

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.

Craving more pumpkin? Try these recipes 

• Chocolate Chunk Pumpkin Bread Recipe
• Pumpkin Blondies Recipe
• Brown Butter Pumpkin Cake Recipe
• Nutella Pumpkin Tiramisu

★★★★★ Please let me know if you make this recipe by leaving a star rating and comment below!

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