I hope most of you are lucky enough to dig into a turkey, some stuffing, some sprouts, some mash, a spiced cranberry sauce and most importantly, a slice of pumpkin pie. This will be my 2nd Thanksgiving stateside, actually my 2nd in Manhattan. Last years orphan event in Soho starring a 22 lbs turkey, prepared by Australians no less, will be hard to top, but I’m just as excited.
When I was little we used to always celebrate Thanksgiving in Switzerland thanks to an American family member. Sadly I can only vaguely remember the (extraordinary) extent of the buffet, but I’m told it was out of this world. And me being the difficult child I was didn’t eat any of it. WHAAAAT??? All the goodness I missed out on. Hard to believe with my current appetite and food obsession.

That being said, its high time to catch up on the culinary delights of this holiday, starting with the best part: pumpkin pie. Happy Thanksgiving!

Delicious Pumpkin Pie

You’ll need
2 cups pumpkin puree
3 eggs
1 and 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar (alternatively light brown sugar will do)
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
1 and 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/8 tsp ground pepper
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup milk
1 large egg beaten with 1 tsp milk
Homemade or store-bought pie crust

1. It’s best to start the night before by making the filling: whisk your pumpkin, 3 eggs and brown sugar until combined. Stir in the cornstarch, salt, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, pepper, cream and milk, mixing well. Cover with cling film and refrigerate over night.
2. In the morning preheat your oven to 190°C/375°F. Line a deep pie dish with your crust, fill with a piece of parchment paper and baking beans. Brush the edges with your egg/milk mixture and blind bake for 10-15 minutes. If you have some extra pastry you can create some decorative pie crust leaves by rolling the dough out and using cookie cutters to make any desired shape. Brush the leaves with some egg/milk mixture and bake for 7-10 minutes until golden brown.
3. Remove the baking beans and parchment paper before pouring your pre-made filling into the crust. It should fill about 3/4 of the crust. Bake for 55-60 minutes. Be sure to cover the edges of the crust after 25ish minutes with some foil as it might blacken a tad too much otherwise.
4. Once baked, transfer the pie to a wire rack and allow to cool for at least 3 hours before serving. Decorate with your pie crust leaves.
5. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. In my opinion, the pie doesn’t need any accompaniments. It makes a great show on its own.

P.S. You might be wondering why the pie is so dark in comparison to most store-bought options. This is attributable to the dark brown sugar. I have made pies with both types of sugar and can confidently conclude dark brown sugar wins.