Caramelized honey pumpkin pie by Claire Saffitz
Ingredients
Flaky all-butter pie dough: Parbaked in a 9-inch pie plate and cooled
Butter: 5 tablespoons unsalted butter (2.5 oz / 71g)
Honey: ¹⁄³ cup (4 oz / 113g)*
Heavy cream: ¾ cup heavy cream (6 oz / 170g), at room temperature
Eggs: 4 large eggs (7 oz / 200g), at room temperature
Dark brown sugar: ¼ cup packed dark brown sugar (1.8 oz / 50g)
Pumpkin puree: 1 (15 oz / 425g) can unsweetened pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling),preferably Libby’s**
Cinnamon: 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Ginger: 1½ teaspoons ground ginger
Vanilla extract: 1 teaspoon
Kosher salt: 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt (0.11 oz / 3g)
Allspice: ½ teaspoon ground allspice
Nutmeg: ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg (preferably freshly grated), plus more for serving
Cloves: ¼ teaspoon ground cloves***
Cream: Softly whipped cream, for serving
US baker Claire Saffitz shares the recipe for this seasonal treat from her new book, Dessert Person.
This Caramelized Honey Pumpkin Pie recipe is from Dessert Person by Claire Saffitz.
This seasonal recipe is ideal for the fall and comes with a difficulty rating of 3 (Moderate).
The pie, covered and refrigerated, will keep up to 3 days but is best served on the first or second day (the crust will soften over time).
Special Equipment Required
- 9-inch pie plate, pie weights or 4 cups dried beans or rice (for parbaking)
Preheat the oven: Arrange an oven rack in the center position and preheat the oven to 325°F. Place the parbaked pie crust on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet and set aside.
Brown the butter: In a small saucepan, cook the butter over medium-low heat, stirring and scraping the bottom and sides constantly with a heatproof spatula. The mixture will sputter as the water boils off. Continue to cook, stirring and scraping, until the sputtering subsides, the butter is foaming, and the solid bits turn a dark brown, 5 to 7 minutes.
Caramelize the honey: Remove the saucepan from the heat and immediately add the honey (to prevent the butter from burning), stirring to combine. Return the saucepan to medium heat and bring to a boil. Continue to cook, swirling often, until the mixture is darkened slightly and has a savory, nutty smell, about 2 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat and slowly stream in the heavy cream, stirring constantly (be careful—the mixture may sputter) until it’s smooth. Set the warm honey mixture aside.
Make the pumpkin filling: In a large bowl, whisk the eggs to break up the whites and yolks, then add the brown sugar and whisk vigorously until the mixture has lightened in color by a shade or two, about 1 minute. Whisk in the pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger, vanilla, salt, allspice, nutmeg, and cloves until smooth. Slowly stream in the warm honey mixture, whisking constantly, until the filling is completely homogenous.
Fill the crust and bake: Pour the filling into the parbaked crust all the way to the top. (Depending on the height of your crust, you may have some leftover filling, which I recommend you keep!) **** Ever so carefully transfer the pie to the center rack and bake until the filling is set and puffed around the edges and the center wobbles gently, 45 to 60 minutes.
Cool the pie gently: Turn off the oven and prop the door open with a wooden spoon. Let the pie cool completely in the oven. Doing so will allow it to cool gradually, which will prevent cracking on the surface.
Slice the pie into wedges and top each piece with softly whipped cream. Grate a bit of fresh nutmeg over the cream and serve.
