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Old-Fashioned Pumpkin Pie

The pie that ends every harvest supper — heavy on the spice, set just to a gentle wobble, served barely warm with unsweetened cream.

Old-Fashioned Pumpkin Pie — Halloween recipe
Prep time
1 hr 20 min
Serves
8
Difficulty
Medium
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The pie that ends every harvest supper. Heavy on the spice, set only to a gentle wobble, served barely warm with unsweetened cream on the side.

Ingredients

  • 1 single pie crust, chilled
  • 15 oz pumpkin puree
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon cloves
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

  1. Heat oven to 425°F (220°C). Fit the crust into a 9-inch pie plate, flute the edge, and blind-bake 12 minutes with weights.
  2. Cook the pumpkin puree with the sugars and spices in a saucepan for 5 minutes, stirring — this drives off water and deepens the flavor.
  3. Off the heat, whisk in the cream, then the eggs and vanilla.
  4. Pour into the warm crust and bake 15 minutes at 425°F.
  5. Lower to 350°F (175°C) and bake 35–40 minutes more, until the outer edge is set and the center still wobbles like custard.
  6. Cool completely on a rack — at least 3 hours — before slicing.

Why it works & making it ahead

Cooking the puree with the sugar and spices for five minutes before the custard goes together is the old trick that separates a good pie from a watery one. Blind-bake the shell so the bottom stays crisp. Pull it while the centre still moves like custard — carryover heat finishes the set, and three hours of cooling does the rest.

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Cooking the puree first is the old trick that separates a good pie from a watery one.

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