This sweet pumpkin pie recipe is perfect for fall and has a delicious flavor. The pie is very tasty at high tea or as a dessert. In the latter case, of course, a slice of pumpkin pie should be accompanied by a scoop of ice cream 😉 or a large dollop of whipped cream.
Pumpkin pie is – of course – a typical American recipe. In the weeks leading up to Halloween, pumpkins are everywhere. They are carved, decorated, cooked and of course baked. So when I think of pumpkin pie, I automatically think of America, Halloween, Thanksgiving and fall. In the Netherlands we would call this pompoentaart but we generally use the American way of making this delicious treat.
Nowadays, pumpkins are available all year round in the Netherlands, as they are usually imported from other countries. If you have your own pumpkin plants in the garden, you can harvest most pumpkins between August and October. This is an excellent time to make pumpkin pie!
If you’re from the United States you must have been growing up with pumpkin pie, but being Dutch means that this is a fairly new development for people to bake pumpkin pies. It’s also one of those pies that you can’t really compare to anything else. For making this easy pumpkin pie recipe you need a pumpkin filling.
In the US it is fairly easy to find cans of pumpkin puree. Not so easy in other parts of the world. I decided to go for homemade pumpkin puree. It’s very easy to make fresh pumpkin puree and it’s also very easy to freeze so you’ll never be without.
Pumpkin is sweet on its own and doesn’t have a very distinct flavor, but if you don’t like pumpkin, I wouldn’t start with this pie. What I personally love about it is the creaminess in contrast to the crunchy base and, of course, the pumpkin pie spice blend used to flavor the filling.
A common question is which pumpkin to use for pumpkin pie. Most used is the sugar pumpkin or pie pumpkins. As the name suggests, the pumpkin flesh of these pumpkins is already pretty sweet. Making it perfect for use in a pumpkin pie. But you can really use just about any kind of pumpkin for making pumpkin purée. Obviously if you’re using canned pumpkin puree you don’t need to worry about which type to buy.
Once you’ve found the perfect pumpkin for your pie, you may need to store it for a while until it’s time to bake. To keep pumpkins as long and as fresh as possible, store them in a cool, dry place.
Once you have “butchered” the pumpkin (am I the only one who always says that? 😛 ), wrap the pumpkin in plastic wrap and store it in the refrigerator. It will keep for up to five days. Or you can freeze it and it will keep for three months.
Now for making this pumpkin pie recipe you will need the following ingredients:
For the crust you can follow my shortcrust recipe or you can use store-bought pie crust. Both will work equally well although I love the flaky crust of my own pie crust recipe. I do make sure to blind bake the crust using parchment paper and pie weights.
For the exact instruction of the crust follow the steps in the recipe card.
As for the filling it can’t be much easier as you simply mix all of the ingredients together in a large bowl (or use a food processor) until smooth and creamy. I’ve seen recipes where part of the double cream was replaced with condensed milk. I find that makes it very sweet but you could adjust the ratio of sugar and milk if you wanted to. I stick to the measurements given below. I do sometimes add a bit of extra ground ginger for some added heat. Not necessary but a nice extra.
Once the pie dough is blind baked I take it out of the oven and pour the filling on. To prevent any possible leaking of the filling I do place the pie pan on a baking sheet. I like to use a pie pan with a loose bottom for ease of taking the pie out of the tin.
The filling will rise just a little bit but not too much. The pumpkin pie is ready when the filling has firmed up but is still a little wobbly in the middle. I take it out of the oven and after a couple of minutes transfer to a wire rack. I let it get to room temperature before removing the pie pan.
You can keep the pumpkin pie covered with aluminum foil or kept in an airtight container in the fridge for about 4-5 days. Serve the pumpkin pie with some delicious whipped cream on top.
I would definitely not omit it, it is actually a flavoring for the pie filling. If you wanted to try something different you can use ‘speculaas kruiden‘. It’s not the same, but it’s the closest substitute.
I used a loose-bottom stainless steel pie pan that is 9 inches (24 cm) in diameter. This mold is slightly taller than standard pie pans, and you really need that space. If in doubt, choose a larger (higher) pie pan rather than a smaller one.
This always happens a little. But if it is extreme in your case, you may have kneaded the shortcrust pastry too long and overworked the gluten. You may also have taken it out of the fridge too soon. Resting in the refrigerator relaxes the gluten.
It sounds like the filling could have used a little more time in the oven or the oven temperature was a little too low. It is also possible that the pumpkin (puree) was too watery, which is sometimes the case with pumpkins from your own garden. It may help not to boil the pumpkin for the puree, but to steam it (or as a reader once told me: roast the pumpkin in the oven).
Rice, dried legumes or ceramic baking beans are the ones that I use.
You can also use the pie crust when it is already cooled down. Ideal if you want to make it ahead of time.
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