Pumpkin Pie with Ginger
Serves: 8
Prep time: one hour, 15 minutes, plus at least one hour to chill the dough
Ingredients
- 1 disk All-American pie dough, chilled (recipe below)
- 2 large eggs
- 3 large egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup sugar
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/3 teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 ½ cups plain canned pumpkin puree
- 1 ½ tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped crystallized ginger
For the pie dough:
Ingredients
- 3 ½ cups cake flour
- 1/3 cup sugar
- ½ cup water
- 1 ½ cups solid vegetable shortening
Directions
- Combine flour, sugar, salt, water and shortening in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until ingredients are well combined and dough is smooth.
- Divide the dough into 2 pieces. Press each piece out to form a 6-inch disk and wrap them in plastic wrap.
- Refrigerate the dough for at least one hour or for up to 1 week. Pie dough may be frozen, wrapped in plastic and then in aluminum foil for up to 3 months.
- Defrost in refrigerator before rolling out.
For the pie:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter bottom and sides of 9-inch pie pan.
- Turn the chilled dough out on a lightly floured surface and sprinkle it with a little flour. With a lightly-floured rolling pin, roll the dough out to form a 13-inch round about 1/8 inch thick, rotating the dough as you roll it and occasionally sliding a flat metal spatula underneath to make sure it does not stick to the surface.
- Lift the dough by folding it in half over the rolling pin, and gently place it on top of the prepared pie pan.
- Press the dough firmly against the bottom and sides of the pan; be careful not to stretch the dough, or the tart shell will shrink as it bakes.
- Trim the crust at the edge of the pan.
- Prick the bottom and sides of the crust with a fork.
- Cut out a 12 x 12 inch square of parchment paper.
- Crumple the parchment; then open it up and grease one side of the paper with vegetable shortening.
- Place the greased side down on the crust, and add pie weights or dried beans to fill the bottom and a little up the sides.
- Bake for 15 minutes.
- Remove the pie pan from the oven and carefully lift out the paper and beans.
- If the crust tears, patch it by pressing it together with your fingers.
- Bake crust for another 10 minutes, until brown and remove from oven. It is not necessary to wait for the crust to cool before filling it.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs, egg yolks, and vanilla together lightly. Stir in the salt, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and 1 cup of the heavy cream until well blended.
- Stir in the pumpkin. Pour mixture into prebaked pie shell.
- Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 hour.
- Do not jiggle the pie while baking. Allow pie to cool on a wire rack, then refrigerate uncovered for up to 3 days.
- When ready to serve the pie, whip the remaining heavy cream with the confectioners’ sugar in an electric mixer until it hold stiff peaks.
- Pipe whipped cream around edge of the pie, and decorate with candied ginger.