The Best Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin pie is easy to make and a wonderful holiday favorite. Because pumpkin pie is a custard, the biggest worry that bakers have when making it is that the top of the pie will split and crack as it cools down. Well, thanks to this recipe your pumpkin pie will come out smooth, delicious, and crack-free every time! The recipe is adapted from one sent to me several years ago by my friend Susan.

I use mace in this recipe instead of nutmeg as it gives the pie a more earthy taste. Both mace and nutmeg come from the same plant. Nutmeg is the nut itself and mace is the lacy layer around the nut. The profile is similar enough that if you don’t have mace, freshly ground nutmeg will do just fine. I also add cardamom to the spice mix as it plays well with the mix of spices in this pie.

Make sure your pie is completely cool before storing it. If not, it will develop a “sweat” on the top of the pie. This is just water and can be wiped off with a paper towel. But it’s less of a hassle if you just allow the pie to cool and come to room temperature naturally instead of putting it in the fridge when it’s still warm.

This pie also makes use of a 9-inch pie crust. You can find the recipe for my pie crust here.

Print Recipe

The Best Pumpkin Pie

A tried and true recipe, the top of this pie never cracks!

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Pie

Servings: 8 slices

Ingredients

• 1 unbaked 9" pie crust
• 1 can pumpkin puree (15 ounces)
• 1 egg
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk (14 ounces)
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp ground mace (or nutmeg)
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground ginger
• ¼ tsp cardamom
• ⅛ tsp Chinese five spice (or small pinch each of ground star anise, ground cloves, and ground white pepper)

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 425°F.
• Whisk together pumpkin puree, egg yolks, and egg in a large bowl until smooth. Add sweetened condensed milk, salt, and all of the spices, and whisk until combined.
• Prepare a 9-inch pie plate with an unbaked pie crust and crimp the edges to decorate.
• Pour the filling into the pie shell and lightly tap the plate on a flat surface to release any air bubbles.
• Wrap the edges in foil or a pie protector and bake at 425°F for 15 minutes.
• Remove the foil/pie crust protector and continue to bake at 350°F for 30-40 more minutes, until the middle is just set. The tip of a knife inserted about 1 inch from the crust will come out clean.
• Allow to cool completely before serving.

Video

Notes

Can be made up to 2 days ahead of time. Allow to cool completely before wrapping and storing in the refrigerator. 

Live somewhere where pumpkin or pumpkin puree is hard to find? This pie also tastes delicious with pureed butternut squash! Just make sure if you are cooking fresh squash that you cook it thoroughly and run it through a sieve to get out any lumpy bits.