No-Bake Pumpkin Pie from Alyssa Lieberman

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Looking for a gourd-geous dessert to top off your Thanksgiving feast? New City Microcreamery’s Alyssa Lieberman presents her take on a classic with a double-boiler, no-bake pumpkin pie. She lays out the instructions for a flaky, pre-baked pie crust and the flavorful, slow-heated filling that sets overnight. Lieberman suggests serving the final product with “fresh whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, or even caramel sauce! Sky’s the limit.”

Details

Yields: one pie

Ingredients

For the pie crust (makes 2): 
  • 1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 3/4 cup unsalted butter, cold, in 1/8” cubes
  • 1/4 cup water, cold
For the pumpkin filling: 
  • 10 egg yolks
  • 2/3 cup heavy cream
  • 3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
  • 15 ounces (1 can) plain pumpkin puree
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon powdered ginger
  • 1 teaspoon powdered allspice
  • 2 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg (best if freshly grated)
  • 2 teaspoons powdered gelatin
  • 2 tablespoons cold water
  • 2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
  • 3 tablespoons sour cream

Directions

For the pie crust:
  1. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt. With your hands or a pastry knife, rub/cut the butter cubes into the dry ingredients until they form flat, uniform dime-sized pieces.
  2. Slowly add the cold water and mix until the dough has just come together. (Be careful of over-mixing.)
  3. Split the dough into two even pieces, wrap them in plastic and refrigerate for 2 hours before shaping.
  4. Once chilled, turn 1 piece of dough onto a flat, floured surface and roll into a circle about 1/8” thick. Lightly spray your pie tin with non-stick spray and gently apply your rolled dough, tucking into every corner of the tin. There should be some overhanging dough around the edge. Either trim the crust (pressing the back of a small knife against the dough to sever it) or fold the excess dough over into a thick edge and crimp with the back of a fork. 
  5. Refrigerate your crust again for 30 minutes. (If wrapped the crust can sit for up to 2 days before being baked, but the 30 minutes is a minimum.) While the crust is cooling, preheat your oven to 325°F. Oven fan settings should be medium to low speed. 
  6. Gently dust the inside of the chilled crust with flour and lay a 4-layer piece of cheese cloth inside, big enough to hang over the edges. Fill it to the brim with some sort of pie weight (traditional baking beans, pie weights or plain white rice.) Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until completely golden brown and baked through. Remove the weights and allow the crust to cool completely at room temperature.
For the pumpkin filling:
  1. Fill a wide-mouthed pot 2 inches deep with water and set it on the oven to lightly simmer.
  2. In metal mixing bowl, wide enough to fit on top of the pot, whisk together the yolks, cream, sugar, pumpkin, salt, and spices. Place the bowl on top of the pot (creating a double boiler). Stir the mixture every few minutes.
  3. In a small bowl, add the cold water and sprinkle the gelatin evenly. Once fully saturated, cover with plastic.
  4. The pumpkin mixture will reach 185°F, and will be much thicker but still fluid. Remove it from the heat and whisk in the gelatin first, then the butter, and finally the sour cream. Whisk until everything is dissolved and mixed evenly.
  5. Pour the custard into your pie crust. Refrigerate overnight, or at least for about 8 hours.

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