Pretty damn good pumpkin pie

I really love pumpkin pie. It’s just so comforting and creamy and I don’t know…delicious.

Remember my first post, where I told you that while I was getting divorced and I thought I couldn’t make it through life (which now sounds utterly ridiculous), pumpkin was my pie of choice when baking a pie to consume entirely on my own in one sitting. Not because it is my favorite pie, but because it literally can be wolfed down within three hours of deciding you want to make it.

It is simple, comforting and delicious. And I have gone through about 20 recipes for different ones, to try to find my can’t-live-without pumpkin pie. And every one was good, and easy to inhale on the couch, without a plate, right out of the pie dish. Awesome.

I have tried heavily spiced pumpkin pie, pumpkin pie with all white sugar, pumpkin pie with all brown sugar, pie with sour cream, pie with milk, pie with heavy cream, pie with molasses, pie with gingerbread crust, pie with a streusel topping, pie with bourbon, pie with maple syrup, even pie with a banana pureed into the filling.

This, simple, caramel pumpkin pie is my favorite…900 pounds on my ass later. Try it. Pumpkin pie is so easy to make, you can make it on a random Wednesday at 6pm after work, and be cleaning the empty dish before bed at 10pm, like so many of my nights.

Caramel Pumpkin Pie (adapted from Gourmet Magazine 2006)

Store bought pie crust (I use Trader Joe’s, it is made with butter and you can tell), blind baked and slightly cooled

1 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
1 ½ cups heavy cream
½ cup sour cream
1 (15-oz) can solid-pack pumpkin, the entire can
1 ¼ teaspoons ground ginger
1 ¼ teaspoons ground cinnamon
¼teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch of ground cloves
½ teaspoon salt
4 large eggs, lightly beaten

Bring sugar and water to a boil in a 3- to 3 1/2-quart heavy saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Boil syrup, washing down side of pan occasionally with a pastry brush dipped in cold water and gently swirling pan (do not stir), until mixture is a deep golden caramel, about 10 minutes.
Reduce heat to moderate and carefully add 1 cup cream (mixture will bubble vigorously), stirring until caramel is dissolved. Stir in remaining cream and the sour cream.
Whisk together pumpkin purée, spices, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk in hot cream mixture, then add eggs, whisking until combined well. Pour filling into cooled crust and bake until puffed 1 1/2 inches from edge and center is just set, 55 to 60 minutes. Grab a fork and dig right in.