Caramelizing the pumpkin purée means that this is a pie with guts, one that won't just sit there phoning in the pumpkin flavor, burying it under lots of spice. But its genius is much more than that. You don't have to blind bake the crust. You use real milk and cream instead of evaporated milk, with predictably better results. And because you blast it at 400 degrees the whole time, it bakes in 25 minutes—less than half the time of your average back-of-the-can recipe. From Meta Given's Modern Encyclopedia of Cooking, an underrated gem of a cookbook. —Genius Recipes
Baking the best pumpkin pie is actually pretty easy when you break it down. A simple but flavor-packed custard filling is coupled with a buttery and flaky crust (no soggy bottoms in sight!). It is no wonder pumpkin pie is an undisputed Thanksgiving classic.
It all starts with the filling, which couldn’t be easier if we tried. This recipe takes the standard “back of the can” recipe one step further by caramelizing the pumpkin purée on the stovetop. The pumpkin will slowly darken, dry out, and smell almost like you are making a pot of bubbling hot caramel. The end result is a pumpkin purée that is deeply concentrated in flavor. This means your pie will have a more pure pumpkin flavor that isn’t hindered by too many warm spices or granulated sugar. Speaking of which, this pie relies only on ground cinnamon and ground ginger to accompany the pumpkin flavor. While they pack a punch, these two spices are relatively mild compared to others like nutmeg and cloves, so the pie will not be too spice-heavy like some others you’ve tasted.
A good pie begins and ends with a well-baked crust. Blind baking achieves two things—it ensures that the weight of your custard filling will not prevent the crust from cooking all the way through, and it means you can cook the filling at a higher temperature in half the usual time. It is not a step you usually want to skip. Take that extra precaution—you can thank us later. —Food52
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