Embrace Autumn with Maple Pumpkin Pie
After a salute to summer, it’s time to embrace autumn with a smile and creamy pumpkin pie. Even better, spice it up with a touch of maple syrup. I learned many lessons with this one by not paying close attention to things and forgetting to get enough of the vital components, but the outcome and the pie I ate was the smoothest, richest pie that just slid right on down and filled me with taste.
Ingredients
2 eggs
1 can (15 oz) solid-pack pumpkin (this is different than a can of say…pumpkin pie mix in the bakery aisle. Lesson number 1. It is pure pumpkin purée and isn’t spiced and mixed like pie mix)
1 cup evaporated milk (cup not can. Lesson number 2. I had 4 extra oz in)
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup + 1 tbls maple syrup
1 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp salt
1 pie crust (9 inch)
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tbls confectioners/powdered sugar
Handful chopped pecans
Prep
Preheat oven to 425 F.
Add your pie crust to a 9-inch pan. Use 3 fingers to pinch the edges to flute them.
In a large bowl mix the solid pack pumpkin, eggs, evaporated milk, normal sugar, 1/2 cup maple syrup, salt, and 1 tsp pumpkin spice together.
Pour into the pie crust.
Bake for 15 minutes at 425, then reduce heat to 350 F and bake an additional 45-50 minutes. I had to go for 60 because my scumbag brain added too much milk, making it too liquid. That and I had the wrong pumpkin mix. Use foil or those fancy crust savers to prevent the visible crust from burning.
Pull out when the top is set and wobbly and the edges are browning.
Cool for 1 hour then refrigerate until set (overnight works).
When getting ready to serve, in a small bowl add the confectioners sugar, last of the maple syrup, last of the pumpkin spice, and the heavy whipping cream, and use a mixer (if you're blessed) or a whisk, and beat this until it stiffens. It helps to have a bowl of ice under, to chill the mixture to help it thicken and form stuff peaks. If you’re like me and doing it by hand, it will take a while. The more violent you get, the faster it hardens.
Add this to a piping bag if you have it or icing gun, or just use a spoon and dollop around the outside of the pie.
Add the pecans as a garnish over the rest. If you buy whole pecans you can open the bag, hold the open end (to let air out) and smash it with a hammer to make it chopped. Unless you have a chopper that can handle nuts. Serve with a scoop of French vanilla ice cream for best effect.
Afterthoughts
I messed this one up quite a bit. I added too much evaporated milk and forgot the pumpkin spice the first time, but it was fine since I bought already-spiced pie mix instead of pure pumpkin. That said, this was still the most delicious pumpkin pie I've ever had. I have never cared for pumpkin, and I loved this. The pie was rich and creamy. I had chosen a rich dark maple syrup. The choice in syrup should make a difference. The extra milk masked it, however, for me. This pie was tasty and not too sugary. It went fast and easily down. This rich, deep taste brought autumn right into all my senses and shared its colorful woodsy goodness.
