Honey Ginger Pumpkin Pie

I’m a bit of a purist when it comes to my traditional recipes, so generally speaking, I stick to the absolute most iconic version of a pie and do it very, very well. Last year, however, we had a bit of an impromptu Thanksgiving dinner, and I couldn’t track down my own pumpkin pie recipe (which is here, on my website – how hard is that, Candace?), and I found one for Honey Ginger Pumpkin Pie which I’d printed from somewhere ages ago and decided to give it a whirl.

How did we end up putting together a full turkey dinner on the fly? Well, you see, my friends David and Meghan got married on Thanksgiving weekend in what was surely one of the most beautiful weddings of all time, and they asked that guests bring a dish for a pot luck dinner.  I love pot luck dinners, and I’ve often said that when I get married, it will either be pot luck dinner or catered by Shawn Adler at the Flying Chestnut in Eugenia (maybe I’ll have to have two weddings).

Anyway, I decided I was going to bring a Turkey Pot Pie, and to do that, you need cooked turkey, and cooking a whole bird seemed like the more economical way to go, and if you’re cooking a turkey you might as well stuff it, and if you’ve got turkey and stuffing you really need cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, roasted squash, and a pumpkin pie. Obvs. So we whipped together this dinner on a bit of a whim, and just as it was ready to hit the table at 9pm on Friday night, Sammi’s friend Mary stopped in on her way through town, having driven up from Chicago to spend time with her Aunt, and we ended up having a full table of people eating a delicious late dinner.

So that’s how I came to discover that a) if you make a Thanksgiving dinner, you’ll magically have the guests to eat it with and b) I think this Honey-Ginger Pumpkin Pie is the best thing ever.

Honey-Ginger Pumpkin Pie

Yield: 1 pie (approx 8 servings)

Pumpkin Roasting Time: approx 1 hour

Pastry Mixing: 20 minutes

Pastry Resting: 2 – 24 hours

Filling Prep Time: 15 minutes

Baking Time: 45 minutes

Note: It’s worthwhile to roast the pumpkin and make the pastry the day prior; the dough is always better with more time to chill, and it’s easier to handle the roasted pumpkin when it’s fully cool.

Making the pastry

Store-bought pastry is fine, but I like to make my own; you can our favourite Basic Pie Pastry Recipe here. You’ll only need 1/2 of it for this Pumpkin Pie, but there’s always a use for an extra crust – I like to use it to make quiche, if nothing else comes up.
Ideally, you should let the pastry chill for at least 2 hours in the fridge after making it, or possibly as long as 24 hours, but even if you just pop it in the fridge for 30 minutes as you make the filling, it will be great.

Pumpkin Puree

Ingredients

• One ripe pumpkin, smaller then your head. Probably a scant 1 lb. pumpkin will do the trick.

Method

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
2. Halve pumpkin crosswise and scoop out the guts.
3. Bake uncovered on a baking tray, hollow side down for 45 minutes – 1 hour, until ‘fork tender’ – which means that when you poke a fork into it, it’s easy to pierce the skin and flesh of the pumpkin.
4. Remove from oven and cool.
5. Scrape pulp from shells; blend with a fork.

Honey-Ginger Pumpkin Pie Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cup cooked pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
• 1/3 cup honey
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cups whipping cream
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and finely-grated
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 pie crust (recipe)

Note: When you’re using fresh ginger, throw it in the freezer a couple hours prior – ginger is much easier to grate when it’s frozen

Directions

1. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 13-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch pie dish. Trim overhang to 1/2 inch. Fold overhang under. Refrigerate 1 hour.
2. Preheat oven to 375°F.
3. Blind Baking the Crust (optional):
4. Line crust with foil.
5. Fill with dried beans.
6. Bake until edges begin to brown, about 17 minutes.
7. Remove foil and beans.
8. Bake until golden brown, pressing with back of fork if crust bubbles, about 5 minutes longer.
9. Transfer to rack. Maintain oven temperature.

10. Blend pumpkin, sugar, and honey in large bowl.

11. Stir in eggs.
12. Stir in cream, ginger, cinnamon, and salt.
13. Pour into crust.
14. Bake pie until set, covering edges with foil collar if browning too fast, about 60 minutes.
15. Cool.
16. Serve at room temperature with whipped cream.

For more delicious recipes, including lots of pies, check out the Family Recipes page!