Pumpkin pie is one of those classic desserts, perfect for the fall season. For sure, it’s one of those authentic treats to share and enjoy for Thanksgiving.
If they don’t celebrate Thanksgiving where you are, it doesn’t matter. There’s always a great excuse around the corner to cook and bake “Autumny” desserts!
I’m usually very aware of how stores take advantage of holidays and seasons to trick you into buying seasonal items. But lovely Fall and heart-warming Thanksgiving treats are so tempting that…I declare myself guilty. Yes, VERY GUILTY of falling for even the easiest marketing tricks.
Oh, but it is so irresistible! There are many varieties in the family of pumpkins, and each of them brings such an incredibly tasty and versatile flavor… you can seriously create a LOT of different delicious things with it (desserts, soups, fries -yes, fries– yams, fudge, etc.)!
Out of all the possibilities, it’s always good to know how to do the classics right. And you know it doesn’t get any more classic than Martha Stewart, so that’s exactly why I got inspired to tackle her original Classic Pumpkin Pie recipe, but making it a tad much sweeter.
Sweeter disclamer 🧁
I basically just let some more condensed milk slip into the recipe, trading its measurements with those of evaporated milk. If you’re watching what you eat (please, holidays are a great excuse not to!), you can just trade the proportions back again.
I would’ve loved to make the pumpkin purée from scratch, but then you would’ve been left with a 10 min long video (and who has that much time? haha!). Aaand, now that we’re talking about it…you want to know a funny little secret? I used to think the purée came from the guts that are carved out when you make Jack O Lantern’s (check mine out below!), although I recently found out that, of course, this is not true: it actually comes from the “meat” of the pumpkin!
If you do want to make your pumpkin purée from scratch, you should choose small pumpkins over larger ones (they tend to have sweeter flavors), cut your “pumpkin meat” in wedges and try one of these methods:
-Baking them until soft, on a 350 degrees Farenheit oven, for about 30-45 mins (or until soft). You can then peel the skin easily from the goody part.
-Boil them until soft (about 20-30mins), peel, and then mash them.
Oh, and one last VERY important note
To avoid any glass cracks or breaking, make sure to preheat your oven. Glass doesn’t break easily, unless its a sudden change in temperature from hot to cold. The change from cold to hot is fine as long as you preheat your oven. No accidents in the kitchen please!
Classic Sweeter Pumpkin Pie
Ingredients
- 1 tsp of ginger
- 1½ tsp of cinnamon
- ¼ tsp of nutmeg
- ½ tsp of salt
- 1 can of pumpkin purée
- 1 tbsp of cornstarch
- ⅔ cup of brown sugar
- 1 tsp of vanilla
- ½ tbsp of heavy cream
- 1 cup of evaporated milk
- ½ cup of condensed milk
- 3 eggs (1 save it for the egg wash)
Pâte brisée (Following Martha Stewart recipe)
Instructions
- Place the flour, water, and butter in the freezer for 20 minutes. Once they're chilled, put them in a food processor.
- First, add the flour and salt. Then, add the butter, piece by piece.
- Start processing and add water as needed. The dough has to be clumpy, but not sticky.
- Wrap the dough in plastic food wrap and stick it in the fridge for an hour.
- Roll your dough evenly and extend on top of a baking pan. Get rid of the excess dough, trimming around the edges with kitchen scissors. Leave around half an inch of overhang.
- Tuck the overhang under so that it fits the pan exactly. For the traditional pie crust decor, you can press the edges with your fingers. Then, to keep the crust whole, put it in the freezer for 50 minutes and preheat your oven to 375 °F.
- Prepare the egg wash before taking the pie crust out of the freezer. Mix one egg and the heavy cream to put it on top of the edges.
- Brush the pie crust with egg wash. It will give your pie a golden color.
- For blind-baking, cover the crust with foil and press it down. Now, put it in the oven.
- Mix the ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, cornstarch, salt, vanilla, and two eggs in a bowl. Then add evaporated milk, condensed milk, and pumpkin pureé.
- Blend all together with a hand mixer.
- Once it's done and your pie crust is ready, you can add the pumpkin filling.
- Depending on the size of your pan, you can have some pumpkin filling leftovers. I found that baking them in cupcakes molds makes for delicious crustless pumpkin buns 😉
- Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, and it's done!
- Now you can enjoy it with whipped cream or ice cream. Whatever is your favorite!
Video
Notes
If you liked this classic pumpkin pie recipe, you might like some of my other recipes too.
And remember, if you try this recipe and want to share your pictures, tag me @lacooquette on Instagram. I’d love to share your pictures on my IG stories.
Note: We published this recipe originally on November 25, 2013. We were beginning and learning, so the video might not look very professional. Still, the recipe is delicious 😀
Leave a Reply