Pumpkin Pie
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
Pumpkin pie is a ritual at most Thanksgiving dinners. Unfortunately, too many pumpkin pie recipes result in a grainy custard encased in a soggy crust. For our pumpkin pie recipe, we avoided this outcome by drying out the pumpkin puree (and adding candied yams for complex flavor) on the stovetop before whisking in dairy and eggs. Preheating the filling let the creamy custard firm up quickly in the oven, preventing it from soaking into the crust.
Pumpkin Pie
SERVES 8
If candied yams are unavailable, substitute regular canned yams. The best way to judge doneness is with an instant-read thermometer. The center 2 inches of the pie should look firm but jiggle slightly. To ensure that the filling sets, let it cool at room temperature, not in the refrigerator. For accurate cooking times and a crisp crust, add the filling to the prebaked crust when both the crust and the filling are warm.
1 recipe Foolproof Single-Crust Pie Dough
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
3 large eggs plus 2 large yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (15-ounce) can unsweetened pumpkin puree
1 cup drained candied yams
¾ cup (5¼ ounces) sugar
¼ cup maple syrup
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1. Roll dough into 12-inch circle on floured counter. Loosely roll dough around rolling pin and gently unroll it onto 9-inch pie plate, letting excess dough hang over edge. Ease dough into plate by gently lifting edge of dough with your hand while pressing into plate bottom with your other hand. Wrap dough-lined plate loosely in plastic wrap and refrigerate until dough is firm, about 30 minutes.
2. Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Trim overhang to ½ inch beyond lip of plate. Tuck overhang under itself; folded edge should be flush with edge of plate. Crimp dough evenly around edge of plate using your fingers. Wrap dough-lined plate loosely in plastic and refrigerate until dough is firm, about 15 minutes.
3. Line chilled pie shell with double layer of aluminum foil or single layer of parchment paper, covering edges to prevent burning; fill with pie weights. Bake until pie dough looks dry and is pale in color, about 15 minutes. Remove foil and weights; continue to bake until crust is light golden brown, 4 to 7 minutes longer. Transfer plate to wire rack. (Crust must still be warm when filling is added.) Reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees.
4. While crust is baking, whisk cream, milk, eggs and yolks, and vanilla together in bowl; set aside. Bring pumpkin, yams, sugar, maple syrup, ginger, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg to simmer in large saucepan and cook, stirring constantly and mashing yams against sides of saucepan, until thick and shiny, 15 to 20 minutes.
5. Off heat, whisk in cream mixture until fully incorporated. Strain mixture through fine-mesh strainer into bowl, using back of ladle or spatula to press solids through strainer. Whisk mixture, then pour into warm crust. Place pie on foil–lined rimmed baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees and continue to bake until edges of pie are set and center registers 175 degrees, 20 to 35 minutes longer, rotating sheet halfway through baking. Let pie cool completely on wire rack, about 4 hours, before serving.