Pumpkin Dream Pie: The 50s classic no-bake dessert recipe, plus a bonus gingersnap crust to try - Click Americana (2024)

FAQs

Why does pumpkin pie taste like gingerbread? ›

Pumpkin pie spice is a mixture of ground cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, allspice and ginger. These roots, seeds and bark all share the trait of somehow tasting sweet without actually being sweet. In the presence of actual sweet ingredients, they really pucker up.

Why Is My Pumpkin Pie Weeping? Another common problem that occurs when baking pumpkin pie is when you notice water on the top of the pie or leaking out from the filling. Why this happens: Either the pie was overbaked, or it was placed in the fridge before cooling completely.

Although she doesn't often stray from traditional flavors, her pumpkin pie recipe is actually pretty unique. The classic warm spices — cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg — are there, but what makes Ina's recipe special is the addition of orange zest and dark rum.

For better pumpkin pie, refrigerate the filling overnight

To that end, we've found that refrigerating pumpkin pie filling overnight before using it not only enhances the spices' flavors, but also mellows them. Any “sharp edges” disappear, and you're left with a smooth meld of complementary flavors.

During my testing of pumpkin pies, I tried lots of different milk options – heavy whipping cream, regular milk (I used 2% in my testing), sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk. Ultimately, I found heavy whipping cream to be the best. It produced the creamiest pie in my opinion.

Pies with too much evaporated milk formed blisters on top.

Though the interior of the filling had a great, creamy texture. The flavor was ever-so-slightly muted and had a hint of milkiness to it.

Often, blind-baking solves this problem. If you're making a single crust custard-filled pie, like a pumpkin pie, bake the pie dough first before adding filling to allow some of the moisture in the crust to evaporate. You can also totally blind-bake fruit pies.

A still-warm pie doesn't hold its shape well when served, and that may explain why your perfectly baked pie turned into a mushy mess on a plate. During the pie's cooling period, between 1 and 2 hours at room temperature, the filling continues to bake and firm up.

According to the experts at Libby's Pumpkin, if you bake the pie too close to the oven's top heating element, the filling can "skin" and crack as it bakes. This can also cause the filling to settle while cooling and pull away from the crust. For the best results, bake your pie in the lower third of the oven.

Canned pumpkin and pumpkin puree are the same thing, and you'll often see the terms used interchangeably in recipes and cookbooks. Unlike pumpkin pie mix, canned pumpkin does not have any spices, sugars, or other additives. In many cases, the only ingredient is pumpkin.

Is 100 pumpkin the same as pumpkin pie filling? ›

Yes, canned pumpkin can be labeled as 100% pure pumpkin or just as pumpkin puree. They are the same product. Both canned pumpkin puree and pie filling are useful, shelf-stable ingredients that can help speed up your kitchen prep time. Just remember that puree is unsweetened, while pie filling contains sugar and spices.

Patti Labelle's Easy Pumpkin Pie Recipe- Southern Soul Food

Distinctive dishes are precisely prepared, using fresh ingredients.

In this foolproof recipe, I use my favorite homemade pie crust, which is deliciously buttery and easy to work with. To avoid a soggy crust, I blind bake it until it's thoroughly dry before adding the filling.

A soggy crust is the curse of many a good pie, particularly custard-based ones like our dear pumpkin. To help avoid this, partially bake the crust before adding the filling (i.e., “blind bake” the crust). If you've never done this before, don't worry — it's easy. Just roll out the crust and fit it into the pan.

Don't worry—you can leave your pumpkin pie out on the table while you linger over dessert. The FDA's official stance is that homemade pumpkin pie can sit out for up to two hours.

The pie is generally flavored with pumpkin pie spice, a blend that includes cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves or allspice. The pie is usually prepared with canned pumpkin, but fresh-cooked pumpkin can be used.

Pumpkin pie spice is heavy on cinnamon, whereas gingerbread spice has a balance of cinnamon, allspice, and ginger. It really does add a different and unique flavor. What is this? This gingerbread spice mix is the perfect addition to any holiday baking that may be on your radar.

What's The Difference Between Pumpkin Pie Spice And Gingerbread Spice? Both actually include most, if not all, of these same ingredients, though in different amounts. Pumpkin pie spice is heavy on cinnamon, while gingerbread spice has a balance of cinnamon, allspice, and ginger.

Is Gingerbread Spice the Same as Pumpkin Spice? Nope! Although the two spice blends share common ingredients — cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves — pumpkin pie spice has a distinctly cinnamon flavor to it, whereas gingerbread spice is much more ginger-forward.