Classic Pumpkin Pie with Chocolate Whip

Friends it’s time. This is not a drill. It’s time to fill the fridge with soon-to-be leftovers and preheat the oven for pies! 

It has come to my attention that I don’t have a classic pumpkin pie recipe on Joy the Baker.  I sure do have Pumpkin Pie Spice but left you with the spice and not the pie.  My apologies though really, the Internet and our grandmother’s have no shortage of pumpkin pie recipes. 

If you’ve been here for more than one holiday season, you know that the only pie I want to talk about this time of year is my Dad’s Sweet Potato Pie. A sneak attack of a perfect pie made with mashed sweet potatoes and a questionable but correct amount of coriander.  

– But of course there’s a place for classic pumpkin pie!  Since moving to New Orleans, I happen to like my pumpkin pie with praline topping because the city has schooled me on the ways of pecans in butter-sugar-magic. 

Today’s pumpkin pie comes at you, most sincerely, topped with chocolate whipped cream and chocolate shavings.  The pairing is deeply complimentary as evidenced by all of chocolate chips I put in my pumpkin bread. 

I hope you’re looking forward to a gathering next week. However that takes shape for you , I hope your table is filled with so much love and laughter and a few too many people crowded elbow to elbow. That’s my preferred holiday and can’t recommend it enough.  Just make sure you have enough pie.  

My greatest hope is that a glorious pie (or two) comes out of your oven this week or next.  This pumpkin pie is a possibility, of course, but here are a few more ideas you might enjoy: 

Apple Cranberry Crumble Pie – a classic made more tart.

Bourbon Pear Crumble Pie – I love both bourbon and crumble, amen. 

Ina’s Apple Pie Bars – a press-in crust that doubles as a crumble topping. 

And a pep-talk to pie crust: How to make pie crust by hand.

Here’s what you’ll need: 

• pumpkin puree – from a roasted pumpkin or from the can. 

• brown and granulated sugar.

• eggs and heavy cream. 

• vanilla extract and just about every warming spice you have in the pantry. 

• pie crust made from butter, flour, salt, sugar, and buttermilk.  

That’s it. That should be plenty.

I roasted a sugar pumpkin for this pie. 

Cut in half, seeded, roasted face-down in a hothot oven for 30+ minutes. 

Scoop out of the peel and puree to super smooth. If it reminds you of the stuff that you can also scoop out of a can… well yea, they’re very similar and honestly make comparable pies. 

I like to heat my pumpkin pie filling.  

In a small saucepan combine pumpkin puree, sugar, spices, and salt. 

Place over low heat, stirring occasionally until the mixture releases some steam –  about 6 minutes or so.  The end result will be concentrated and super fragrant. 

Place the pumpkin puree mixture in a bowl and whisk to release some of the heat.  

Add the heavy cream to chill the pumpkin mixture. 

Lightly beat the eggs before whisking them into the pumpkin mixture.  

A good dash of vanilla is nice too! 

Roll out the chilled pie crust hustle it into a pie dish. 

I usually use a smaller metal pie dish for my pie recipes but this occasion calls for a more elegant pie. 

This ceramic dish from Emile Henry is one of my new favorites. It holds a big batch of pie filling but we can discuss that below. 

Fill the pie dish and brush the crust lightly with egg wash. 

Bake until set, starting the pie in a hot oven, then reducing the heat to allow the pie to bake for 50 minutes or so.  

I chilled this pie in the refrigerator overnight because I think pumpkin pie is best chilled, and the cool air helps set the pie especially before topping with chocolate whipped cream. 

Dollop soft chocolate whipped cream and swish and swoop with a knife. 

Chocolate curls are fully over the top and not necessary but… I’m going for it.  

I bought a giant chocolate bar from Trader Joe’s, warmed the edge with my hands, and used a peeler to sneak little curls off the side.  

Chocolate sprinkles would be equally as wonderful.  Do whatcha do! 

Shimmy chocolate curls atop the pie. 

Aren’t we fancy? I just looked over my shoulder like, who dis? 

Enjoy super chilled with a tremendous amount of pride. 

Have a most lovely holiday! 

Recipe note: The recipe below is a good amount of pie filling for a slightly smaller metal pie dish.  If you have a deeper pie dish similar to the one pictured above, you may want to increase this recipe by half. You may have a bit of filling left over but you’ll be able to fill the dish to the crimped edge.

Photos with Jon Melendez.

Classic Pumpkin Pie with Chocolate Whipped Cream

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• Author: Joy the Baker
• Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
• Cook Time: 55 minutes
• Total Time: 2 hours 25 minutes
• Yield: 1 9-inch pie 1x

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Ingredients

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For the crust:

• 2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold, cut into cubes
• 1/2 cup cold buttermilk plus 2 to 3 tablespoons more if your dough is dry

For the filling:

• 2 cups smooth pureed pumpkin
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1–1/4 cups cold heavy cream
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the whip:

• 1 1/2 cups cold heavy whipping cream
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1/3 cup powdered sugar
• pinch of salt
• Chocolate shavings or chocolate sprinkles

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Instructions

1. * This pie crust recipe makes a top and bottom crust, but we’ll only need one bottom crust. Just wrap and freeze the other disk of dough for future use!
2. To Make the Crust: To make the crust, in a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, and salt. Add cold, cubed butter and, using your fingers, work the butter into the flour mixture. Quickly break the butter down into the flour mixture, some butter pieces will be the size of oat flakes, some will be the size of peas.
3. Create a well in the butter and flour mixture and pour in the cold buttermilk. Use a fork to bring to dough together. Try to moisten all of the flour bits. On a lightly floured work surface, dump out the dough mixture. It will be moist and shaggy. That’s perfect. Divide the dough in two and gently knead into two disks. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. We’ll only need one disk of dough for this recipe. The other can be wrapped well and frozen.
4. To assemble the pie, remove one of the pie dough disks from the fridge. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough out into about a 13-inch round. Roll the dough a few strokes, then use your fingers to move the emerging circle around the floured surface. This ensures that the dough isn’t sticking to the work surface. The circle won’t be perfect, that’s ok.
5. Try not to get any tears in the rolled out dough, but if you do, they can be patched together with extra dough. When you roll the dough and you can see it start springing back, that means that the butter is warming and the crust shouldn’t be rolled out anymore. Gently lift the 13-inch round from the floured surface and center in a deep 9-inch round pie dish. Place in the fridge to chill while you prepare the filing.
6. Put a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
7. To make the filling: Combine the pumpkin puree, brown and granulated sugars, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, cardamom, and salt in a medium saucepan set over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until the mixture begins to bubble and become fragrant, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl. Stir in the heavy cream. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla.
8. Transfer the filling to the prepared pie crust. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake until the pie no longer jiggles in the center, 35 to 45 minutes.
9. For best results, refrigerate the pie overnight to cool before topping.
10. To make the whip in a medium bowl whisk together 1/2 cup heavy cream with cocoa powder, powdered sugar, and salt. Whisk until smooth. Add the remaining cream and use an electric hand mixer to whip the cream to soft peaks.
11. Dollop the frosting over the cooled pie and sprinkle with chocolate shavings or chocolate sprinkles. Chill and serve this pie cold.

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Notes

Recipe note: The recipe below is a good amount of pie filling for a slightly smaller metal pie dish.  If you have a deeper pie dish similar to the one pictured above, you may want to increase this recipe by half. You may have a bit of filling left over but you’ll be able to fill the dish to the crimped edge.

If you’d like to make a gluten-free pie crust, I suggest this recipe here.