Ultimate Pumpkin Pie with Rum Whipped Cream
Ina Garten thinks that pumpkin pie can be boring and dense, so she set out to make a better version. She says, “Pumpkin has a distinct squash flavor that you want to enhance without overpowering it. I’ve filled the prebaked crust with a lightly spiced pumpkin mixture that tastes more like a mousse than a dense custard. Dark rum and grated orange zest are my secret ingredients.” A dollop of mascarpone or crème fraîche in the whipped cream stabilizes it so you can make it in advance and store it in the fridge without it separating.
This recipe makes enough dough for two piecrusts. Either freeze the extra dough for use later, or do as we do here and use it to make cutouts to decorate the pie. Use decorative cutters or a paring knife to create autumnal shapes from the second dough round, then bake the cutouts on a baking sheet until golden brown, about 10 to 12 minutes, before placing them on the baked and cooled pie.
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Ingredients
For the crust:
- 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) (6 oz./185 g) very cold unsalted butter
- 3 cups (12 oz./375 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 Tbs. sugar
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- 1/3 cup (3 oz./80 g) very cold vegetable shortening, such as Crisco
- 1/2 cup (4 fl. oz./125 ml) ice water
For the filling:
- 1 can (15 oz./470 g) pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
- 1/2 cup (4 oz./125 g) lightly packed light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup (2 oz./60 g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp. ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
- 2 tsp. grated orange zest
- 3 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 cup (8 fl. oz./250 ml) heavy cream
- 1/2 cup (4 fl. oz./125 ml) whole milk
- 2 Tbs. dark rum, such as Mount Gay
For the rum whipped cream:
- 1 cup (8 fl. oz./250 ml) cold heavy cream
- 3 Tbs. granulated sugar
- 1 Tbs. mascarpone or crème fraîche
- 1 Tbs. dark rum, such as Mount Gay
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
Directions
Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C).
To make the crust, cut the butter in 1/2-inch (12-mm) dice and return it to the refrigerator while you prepare the flour mixture. Place the flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse a few times to mix. Add the butter and shortening. Pulse 8 to 12 times, until the butter is the size of peas. With the machine running, pour the ice water down the feed tube and pulse the machine until the dough begins to form a ball. Dump out onto a floured board and roll into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Cut the dough in half. Roll one piece on a well-floured board into a circle at least 13 inches (33 cm) in diameter, rolling from the center to the edge, turning and flouring the dough so it doesn’t stick to the board. (You should see bits of butter in the dough.) Fold the dough in half, ease it into an 11-inch (28-cm) pie pan without stretching at all, and unfold to fit the pan. With a small sharp paring knife, cut the dough 1 inch (2.5 cm) larger around than the pan. Fold the edge under and crimp the edge with either your fingers or the tines of a fork. (Either freeze the remaining half of the dough for use later, or use it to make decorative cutouts as described above.)
Line the crust with parchment paper. Fill the paper three-quarters full with dried beans or pie weights and bake the crust for 15 minutes, until the edges start to brown. Remove the beans and paper (save the beans for another time), prick the crust all over with the tines of a fork and bake for another 5 minutes.
Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (180°C).
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, salt, orange zest, eggs, cream, milk and rum. Pour the filling into the baked pie shell. Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, until the filling is just set in the middle and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Set aside to cool completely.
To make the rum whipped cream, place the cream in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Add the sugar, mascarpone, rum and vanilla and beat on medium-high until it forms soft peaks.
Cut the pie into slices and serve with rum whipped cream on top. Serves 8 to 10.
NOTE: If you overwhip the cream and it looks curdled, just add a little more cream and whip it until it forms soft peaks.
Reprinted from Barefoot Contessa Foolproof. Copyright © 2012 by Ina Garten. Photographs copyright © 2012 by Quentin Bacon. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House.
