The shared experience of food in Hawaii is a beautiful thing. This season, people in some of the community pages I follow were reminiscing about a local bakery and missed its holiday pumpkin and custard pies. I figured, how hard could it be to make at home?
Well, it quickly became clear why this bakery’s pies had such a devoted following. I learned many lessons and have seven somewhat unflattering attempts in my fridge to prove it.
A double-layered pie can be done, but not without a little finesse. Timing is everything. How do you cook two fillings where one is set? I ended up with a couple of pies that were more mixed than layered. On another try, I used a recipe that called for butter in the custard, and while it was fine when warm, after chilling I noticed some textures that did not meld well. At last, I had one that I was happy enough to repeat.
I’ve long held a strong belief about pies: Make one, take one. It’s always as easy to make two pies as it is one, so there’s no reason to shy away from “too much pie.” Pie is the perfect thing to take to a potluck or for a dinner with friends.
Both are likely to happen during the holidays, so maybe you should make extra pies, just in case.
Pumpkin Custard Pie
Ingredients:
• 2 pie crusts
Ingredients for pumpkin layer:
• 2 eggs (divide)
• 1 cup pumpkin
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Ingredients for custard layer:
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 pinches nutmeg
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line 2 pie tins with rolled out pie crusts or allow ready-made frozen crusts to thaw while it heats. Set out the butter, eggs, milk and cream so they can come to room temperature.
Take one of the eggs for the pumpkin pie filling and divide it, with one egg white in a small bowl. Whisk it until it is loose and a little bubbly. Brush the insides and the edges of both of the crusts with the egg white. Poke the crust all over with the tines of a fork. Place the pies on a baking sheet and put in the oven.
Bake the crusts for 12 minutes. Remove from the oven. While it is baking, make the pumpkin layer.
To make pumpkin layer: In a bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, the egg and extra egg yolk, and brown and white sugar. Add the milk, cream, salt and pumpkin pie spice and whisk again until it’s all combined. When the crusts are done with their prebake, divide and ladle the pumpkin filling into the crusts, bringing it up about halfway up the crust. This may vary depending on the size and depth of your pie pans. If you have extra, add it to ramekins to make little puddings.
Bake the pumpkin layer at 400 degrees for 12 minutes. Turn the oven down to 350 and bake for 12 more minutes.
To make the custard layer: In a clean mixing bowl, whisk together the milk, cream, eggs, sugar, salt and nutmeg until no streaks from the egg yolks are visible.
Remove the pumpkin pies from the oven and carefully divide and ladle in the custard filling on top of the pumpkin. Pour it gently and move the ladle around so it doesn’t all pour into one spot. Try not to disturb the pumpkin layer.
Bake again for 25-30 minutes or until the outside edge is set and the middle is just barely cooked. Set out to cool. Chill overnight. Set it out in room temperature for about 15-20 minutes before serving.
Makes 2 pies.
Mariko Jackson writes about family and food. Email her at thelittlefoodie@gmail.com.
