At first glance, this will look like pumpkin cheesecake because of the addition of mascarpone cheese. But it's not. The mascarpone just gives the pie a more custard-thick consistency. It's nothing like your typical grocery store pie, it's way better. Mascarpone is pricey, but it's worth it. You can always substitute regular cream cheese if you want, I've done it both ways and both are good, mascarpone is just better. *sidenote* if you've never purchased mascarpone before, it's in the specialty cheese fridge by the deli by the parmesan, not by the cream cheese.
I've written my pie crust recipe below, if you don't want to make it, just go to the store and buy a premade one. (I won't tell!)
One other note: this makes a little larger than your average sized pie. I have deep dish pie plates that I use for everything and I posted a picture of the pie plate I use below. It's Food Network brand from Kohls. I got it on sale for $5, and it was only $10 originally. If you use smaller pie dishes, this filling will actually fill 2 of them, so you'll need to double the crust recipe.
I also included a basic vanilla bean whipped cream for garnish. It has vanilla bean paste in it. If you haven't bought any yet.. you need to! :) You can find a link in my "A Note About Vanilla Bean Paste" post, or you can find 4 ounce bottles at sur la table or williams sonoma. Or yes, you can use vanilla from the grocery store :) Man, I'm a brat about vanilla aren't I?
Pie Crust:
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoons vegetable shortening
3 tablespoons butter, cold and diced
2-3 tablespoons ice cold water
Mix the flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl. Cut the shortening and butter into the flour with a pastry blender, or fork, or your fingers (whatever you're most comfortable with) you want the butter and shortening to be the size of peas. With your hands, knead the dough while adding in the water, one tablespoon at a time, until the dough comes together.
Roll the crust out to fit your plate on a well floured, flat surface. Place the crust in the plate and pinch the top sides with your fingers. (Everyone pretty much knows how to do that I think)
Put the crust in the fridge to rest while you work on the filling.
Pumpkin Filling
8 ounces mascarpone cheese, at room temp
15 ounces canned pumpkin
1 cup granulated white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 pinch nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon dry ground ginger
With your electric mixer, beat mascarpone until soft. Add pumpkin and sugar, beat until combined. Add remaining ingredients and mix well.
Bake at 350 for 60-70 minutes. The way you tell if a custard is done is to shake it. It should have a very little jiggle in the middle. It's better to have it a little overdone than a little underdone, so if you're nervous about taking it out, leave it in for a few more minutes.
Allow pie to cool on a wire rack until room temperature before refrigerating. This will allow the pie to finish setting. Chill for 4-6 hours or overnight if you like cold pumpkin pie.
Whipped Cream
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons melted butter
1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
Whip cream and butter until .... well until it looks like whipped cream! Add sugar and vanilla and whip until combined. Add a little more sugar if you want it a little sweeter. The melted butter will help the cream to keep it's shape if it sits for more than a couple hours (fyi).
Did I forget to mention that this is NOT low fat?? :D happy baking!
I've written my pie crust recipe below, if you don't want to make it, just go to the store and buy a premade one. (I won't tell!)
One other note: this makes a little larger than your average sized pie. I have deep dish pie plates that I use for everything and I posted a picture of the pie plate I use below. It's Food Network brand from Kohls. I got it on sale for $5, and it was only $10 originally. If you use smaller pie dishes, this filling will actually fill 2 of them, so you'll need to double the crust recipe.
I also included a basic vanilla bean whipped cream for garnish. It has vanilla bean paste in it. If you haven't bought any yet.. you need to! :) You can find a link in my "A Note About Vanilla Bean Paste" post, or you can find 4 ounce bottles at sur la table or williams sonoma. Or yes, you can use vanilla from the grocery store :) Man, I'm a brat about vanilla aren't I?
Pie Crust:
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoons vegetable shortening
3 tablespoons butter, cold and diced
2-3 tablespoons ice cold water
Mix the flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl. Cut the shortening and butter into the flour with a pastry blender, or fork, or your fingers (whatever you're most comfortable with) you want the butter and shortening to be the size of peas. With your hands, knead the dough while adding in the water, one tablespoon at a time, until the dough comes together.
Roll the crust out to fit your plate on a well floured, flat surface. Place the crust in the plate and pinch the top sides with your fingers. (Everyone pretty much knows how to do that I think)
Put the crust in the fridge to rest while you work on the filling.
Pumpkin Filling
8 ounces mascarpone cheese, at room temp
15 ounces canned pumpkin
1 cup granulated white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 pinch nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon dry ground ginger
With your electric mixer, beat mascarpone until soft. Add pumpkin and sugar, beat until combined. Add remaining ingredients and mix well.
Bake at 350 for 60-70 minutes. The way you tell if a custard is done is to shake it. It should have a very little jiggle in the middle. It's better to have it a little overdone than a little underdone, so if you're nervous about taking it out, leave it in for a few more minutes.
Allow pie to cool on a wire rack until room temperature before refrigerating. This will allow the pie to finish setting. Chill for 4-6 hours or overnight if you like cold pumpkin pie.
Whipped Cream
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons melted butter
1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
Whip cream and butter until .... well until it looks like whipped cream! Add sugar and vanilla and whip until combined. Add a little more sugar if you want it a little sweeter. The melted butter will help the cream to keep it's shape if it sits for more than a couple hours (fyi).
Did I forget to mention that this is NOT low fat?? :D happy baking!
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