Classic Pumpkin Pie With No Shrink Pie Crust

Classic Pumpkin Pie With No Shrink Pie Crust desserts Tender flaky crust with a rich smooth filling served with a pecan praline sauce Fall baking, classic pies Classic Pumpkin Pie With No Shrink Pie Crust pumpkin, pies

Updated 22nd November 2023

This classic pumpkin pie is creamy, sweet and luscious, with a homemade pie crust. It’s bursting with flavor and tastes delicious in this homemade no shrink pie crust, served with whipped cream or my pecan praline sauce or both. There are so many delicious ways to make pumpkin pie with many flavour options out there but if you are looking for a stand up, never disappoint classic perfect pumpkin pie than look no further. The crust is wonderfully tender and flaky and the filling is gently spiced and so rich and smooth. The filling is quite simple with a classic blend of spices in it. The texture of this one is so luscious and perfectly balanced, just sweet enough, gently spiced and not too overpowering, and irresistibly silky smooth. You will be savouring each bite.

Classic Pumpkin Pie With No Shrink Pie Crust

Pumpkin Pie Ingredients

  • PIE CRUST: I include the recipe for a delicious flaky butter pie crust below, however you are welcome to use any other pie crust you prefer. If you want to use your trusty pie dough recipe or even a store-bought pie crust, feel free to.
  • PUMPKIN PUREE: While you can theoretically roast your own pumpkin to make fresh pumpkin puree, canned pumpkin purée is readily available and more stable and perfect for the purpose. It provides a reliable and consistent texture. It may also be labelled as solid-pack pumpkin or pure pumpkin. This is not to be mistaken for pumpkin pie filling which contains many other additives and not pure pumpkin purée. I used 2 1/2 cups which is 1 whole 15-ounce can plus half of another
  • SPICES: This pumpkin pie includes ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground nutmeg and ground black pepper. If your prefer to use pumpkin pie spice you can or your own spice blend. Feel free to add more warming spices like1/8 teaspoon ground cloves or allspice.
  • EGGS: You will need two whole large eggs and two yolks. They help bind together the filling and add richness
  • BROWN SUGAR: Use light or dark brown sugar to sweeten the filling. You could also swap it out for granulated sugar
  • LEMON JUICE: Freshly squeezed is best. It gives just a subtle amount of tangyness to the filling. It is totally optional or you can swap it out for orange juice or carrot juice.
  • HEAVY CREAM: I use heavy whipping cream for a nice rich and creamy filling. If you would like to use something lighter I recommend evaporated milk
  • BOURBON: This provides a nice layer of flavor to the pie filling and doesn’t create a boozy flavor. Feel free to swap it out for a dark spiced rum or omit if you prefer it without any alcohol
  • VANILLA EXTRACT: Adds a hint of warm flavour to all sweet baked treats.
  • ALL PURPOSE FLOUR: It helps bind the filling as well

Classic Pumpkin Pie With No Shrink Pie Crust

How To Make Homemade Pumpkin Pie This tasty Pumpkin Pie is quiet easy to make and here are the simple instructions (full details in recipe card below)

  1. MAKE PIE DOUGH: You can use store bought pie dough/pie crust for this recipe if you prefer or even use your own recipe. For a tried and tested no shrink pie dough recipe please refer to the recipe card below - recipe, directions for making dough, rolling it out included.
  2. ROLL OUT PIE, CHILL & BLIND BAKE: Roll out the pie dough, fit into pan, tuck and flute edges, brush edges with egg wash. Chill pie crust while preheating oven then blind bake and cool while preparing filling.
  3. PREPARE FILLING: Whisk or stir together the filling ingredients: pumpkin puree, brown sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, eggs, yolks, cream, bourbon, lemon juice and vanilla until smooth. Pour filling into pie crust.
  4. BAKE PIE: Carefully transfer pie to oven and bake at 375°F until golden brown approximately 55-60 min. I place a pie shield on top of the pie or tent loosely with foil to prevent the edges from browning too quickly at the 25-30 minute mark
  5. COOL PIE: Remove pie from oven when done and allow to cool on cooling rack for 4-6 hours before slicing and enjoying

Classic Pumpkin Pie With No Shrink Pie Crust

Pumpkin Pie Storage, Make Ahead and Freezing

  • STORAGE: Leftover pie can be wrapped tight with plastic wrap and aluminum foil stored in the fridge for up to 5 days.
  • MAKE AHEAD: The Pie Dough - can be made in advance and stored wrapped in plastic wrap in the fridge for up to 3 days. It can also be wrapped and frozen for up to one to three months. Thaw in the fridge overnight and then rollout as directed. BLIND BAKE ahead - Once baked and cooled, the crust can be wrapped in plastic wrap and kept at room temperature for up to 2 days. The Entire Pie can be made and baked the day before which will allow plenty of room for filling to cool and set making this a great make ahead pie recipe.
  • FREEZING: Baked pie freezes well for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature before serving. Here is how to do It - Bake and cool pie as directed. Place your pie into the freezer to allow it to initially freeze, for 1-2 hours or preferably overnight. Then, wrap your frozen pie in a layer of plastic wrap, followed by a layer of aluminum foil. Place the wrapped pie into a freezer-safe storage bag, squeezing out any excess air. Thaw it by moving it to the fridge overnight (or up to 24 hours). Remove wrappings and serve chilled or reheated or let come to room temperature before serving.

Classic Pumpkin Pie With No Shrink Pie Crust

For the No Shrink Pie Dough

I came across a very interesting recipe recently by Christopher Kimball for a no shrink pie dough and was very excited to try it. I love baking pies and love a classic all butter pie crust but I am always looking for new recipes and extra techniques and tips to make my pie crusts even better. At first I looked at the recipe and was puzzled by the cornstarch mixture in it. Apparently adding this method and mixture to your dough is adopted from Japanese bread-baking. The technique and mixture of the cornstarch and water keeps the dough hydrated throughout the process. Take 3 tablespoons of water and a couple teaspoons of cornstarch, mix it, and stick it in the microwave for 30 seconds until it develops a gel-like texture. Then you chill it and pulse this gel into your piecrust’s dry ingredients before processing in the butter. The result is that the pie dough is well hydrated and easier to handle without being overly sticky. It rolled out like dream and was so easy to handle and shape and fit into my pie pan. It baked up beautifully and its a technique and crust I will defiantly be using over again.

Classic Pumpkin Pie With No Shrink Pie Crust

Pie Crust Tips

When it comes to dough shrinkage a few things are key whether you are using the mentioned secret ingredient in you pie crust or not. Here are some tips:

  • Do not over work the dough. That goes for in the food processor and also while rolling. When rolling you must take care not to be stretching the dough so that means keeping your work surface well floured so that while you roll you can pivot or rotate your dough in between.
  • When placing the dough in the pan, make sure to press it firmly into the base and sides of the pan. While doing so it’s important again to be careful to not stretch it while doing so. * * Chilling the crust after it’s in the pan always helps and blind baking or par baking it with pie weights is also helpful.
  • When baking a pie like this with a custard filling and one that requires blind baking, it is good to seal the bottom of it with egg wash right after it comes out of the oven from blind baking it. This provides a nice barrier between the filling and the crust. Inevitably as crunchy as your pie crust may be, the bottom of it will always absorb some of the filling from a custard filling so don’t sweat it but the egg wash helps reduce the absorption by a little.

So there you have it. Another tasty pumpkin pie recipe out there on the ‘interweb’ for you guys to try. I do strongly recommend serving it with the pecan praline topping. If you don’t want to put it on the pie just serve it on the side along with some whip. It’s such a special way to serve this classic pumpkin pie dessert. Enjoy!

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Recipe

Yields: one 9 inch deep dish pie
Servings: 8-10
Prep Time: 30 mins
Cook Time: 1 hour 20 mins (including blind bake)
Non Active Time: 5 hours
Total Time: 7 hours (to chill pie dough and cool pie)

Ingredients

For the No-Shrink Pie Dough

  • 3 Tablespoons water
  • 2 Teaspoons cornstarch
  • 1 cup plus 2 Tbs. all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
  • 2 Teaspoons granulated sugar
  • ¼ Teaspoon salt
  • 10 Tablespoons (1¼ sticks) cold salted butter, cubed
  • 2 Tablespoons. sour cream
  • 1 egg whisked for egg wash

For the Pumpkin Pie Filling

  • 2½ cups pure pumpkin puree
  • 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • ½ Teaspoon salt
  • 1½ Teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ Teaspoon ground ginger
  • ½ Teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ⅛ Teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 2 whole eggs plus 2 egg yolks
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 3 Tablespoons bourbon
  • 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1 Teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Pecan Praline Topping (optional)

  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • ½ cup light brown sugar, packed
  • 3 tablespoons heavy cream
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • ¾ cup very coarsely chopped pecans, some full pecan pieces are fine

Directions

For the crust

  1. In a small microwave-safe bowl, whisk together the water and cornstarch. Microwave until set, 30 seconds, stirring once halfway through. Chill in the freezer for 10 minutes. (It will be the consistency of firm jello)
  2. Once the cornstarch mixture has chilled, in a food processor, combine the flour, sugar and salt and pulse 1-2 times until combined. Add the chilled cornstarch mixture and pulse until the cornstarch mixture is evenly distributed, about 5 pulses. Then add the butter and sour cream and pulse until the dough comes together and begins to collect around the blade. Empty out onto a clean surface and pat it into a round flat disc, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 2 days.
  3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375°F. Roll the dough on a well floured surface into a 12-inch round. Drape the dough over rolling pin and transfer to a 9-inch glass pie plate deep dish if possible. Gently ease the dough into the dish by lifting the edges while pressing down into the corners and edges of the dish. Do not stretch the dough while fitting it. Trim the edges, leaving a ½-inch overhang, then tuck the overhang under and then crimp the edges with a fork or fingers, then chill in the freezer for 15 minutes.
  4. To blind bake, line the chilled crust with parchment paper and fill with pie weights or beans or sugar. Bake until the edges are light golden brown, about 20 minutes. Remove the foil and weights and bake until the bottom of the crust just begins to color, another 5 to 7 minutes. Brush the bottom and top edges of pie with egg wash as soon as it comes out of the oven. Let cool on a wire rack before filling.

For The Pumpkin Pie Filling

  1. In the meantime, make the filling: In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, brown sugar until incorporated and glossy.
  2. Add the flour, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg and whisk until smooth.
  3. Add the eggs and egg yolks and whisk until combined. Add the cream, bourbon, lemon juice and vanilla and whisk until smooth.
  4. Pour pumpkin pie mixture into crust.
  5. Bake the pie until the center is almost set, about 55-60 minutes give or take. A small part of the center will be wobbly. After 25 minutes of baking, be sure to cover the edges of the crust with aluminum foil or use a pie crust shield to prevent the edges from getting too brown. Check for doneness at minute 50, and then 55, and then 60, until done to prevent over baking. *
  6. Once done, transfer the pie to a wire rack and allow to cool completely for at least 3-4 hours. Cover leftovers tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Slice and enjoy with whip cream or the pecan praline topping (below) or both.

For the Pecan Praline Topping

  1. In a medium saucepan combine brown sugar, butter, cream, and salt over medium-low heat. Bring to a simmer for 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in vanilla, and pecans. Allow to cool slightly before serving with the pie.

Recipe Notes

  • The cook time for this recipe may vary depending on your oven and also what kind of pie dish you are using. If you use a tin pie plate, it takes just about an hour to bake. If you are baking with a larger and thicker ceramic one you may need to bake it longer - up to 15 min more.
  • Feel free to use pumpkin pie spice in place of the extra spices in the pie. I usually use 1½ teaspoons of ground cinnamon and 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice or more according to taste.
  • If you prefer to use evaporated milk in the pumpkin pie filling instead of heavy cream you can
  • One thing to remember to help prevent any large cracks in your pie is to make sure to not over bake it. I tend to check it 10 min before its suppose to be done so that it doesn’t over bake. The outer edges will be on the firmer side but the middle should definitely have some jiggle remaining. Remember the pie will continue to bake in the pie dish for a while longer and that jiggly part will firm up in no time.

Adapted from Williams Sonoma Test Kitchen


Classic Pumpkin Pie With No Shrink Pie Crust