Pumpkin Pie with Spiced Whipped Cream Recipe
Pumpkin Pie with Spiced Whipped Cream
Even though October is over, there's no escaping the pumpkins. They're everywhere. Everywhere I tell you! The good news is, once Thanksgiving rolls around, they'll finally be gone. All the hype will be over and I can praise the Lord for the dissappearance of pumpkin recipes from my Google Reader. Until then, I'll have to join them since I certainly can't beat them. So without further ado, ladies and gents, I present to you: pumpkin pie.
This is not just any pumpkin pie. This is the first pumpkin pie I have ever made. Yup, milestone right here. Also, I would like to include the fact that I made this first ever pumpkin pie with fresh pumpkin puree. You probably already know that if you follow me on Facebook. If you don't, which is an abominable offense, now you know. And you should probably start following me.
Fresh pumpkin puree is outrageously easy to make. Jonathan recently posted a pretty tutorial on his blog, so you should go check it out if you're interested. In making the puree, I discovered that pumpkin guts are actually yellow-ish, and not the bright orange that I thought they were. Makes me wonder why pumpkin from a can is always orange....artificial coloring anyone?
I had to explain to almost everyone in my family why my pumpkin pie wasn't orange. Everyone's been brainwashed by artificially colored pumpkin pies! It's about time they learned the truth! I was particularly glad I could provide them with this information because this in turn meant putting my pie on a pedestal since it had all natural flavors. And when it comes to convincing my picky eater dont-really-like-to-try-new-things family to try something new, I will take any excuse I can get to make that new thing sound appealing.
Luckily, I didn't have to do much talking after my flavor spiel because this pie spoke for itself. It was so creamy and dreamy, and the crispy gingersnap crust was DIVINE. It complemented the pumpkin flavor in the most spectacular way. Of course, pumpkin pie isn't pumpkin pie without a dollop of whipped cream. So, I whipped up a batch of delicious whipped cream, and threw in some cinnamon and ginger to take it to the next level. It took things to the next level alright.
The spiced whipped cream topping added just the right amount of extra decadence this pie needed. I piped a star border around the pie and left the rest of it topping-less because I wasn't sure how much topping everyone preferred. Though, one could argue that I really just wanted all the whipped cream to myself. That could be a serious possibility.
Pumpkin Pie with Spiced Whipped Cream
Yield: One 9.5 inch pie
Ingredients:
For the crust
- 1 and 1/2 cups gingersnap cookie crumbs
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- pinch of salt
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- For the filling
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 cups fresh pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- For the whipped cream
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 heaping tablespoon sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ginger
Directions
For the crust
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9.5 inch pie dish with nonstick spray.
Set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together the gingersnap cookie crumbs, sugar, and salt. Add melted butter and mix together with a fork until well combined and crumbs are evenly moistened. Press into prepared pie dish. Bake crust for 10 minutes, then
allow to cool.
For the filling
In a large bowl, lightly whisk the eggs. Add pumpkin puree, heavy cream, light brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt, and stir to combine. Pour the mixture into pie crust.
Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until the filling is set. The center
will still look wet but it will not “jiggle” too much. Allow the pie to cool
completely. Serve at room temperature; store leftover pie in refrigerator.
For the whipped cream
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment (or in a mixing bowl if using an electric hand mixer), add all the ingredients. Beat together on medium speed until frothy; then increase speed to high and beat until stiff peaks form. Garnish pie as desired.
Adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction