I cannot believe it took me over six weeks before caving in to my cravings for pumpkin pie. I danced around the temptation by baking all manners of pumpkin baked goods imaginable. On this day of American Thanksgiving, I surrendered. Although what you see in the photo above was my breakfast, it was not a slice of pumpkin pie topped with whipped cream. No pumpkin was harmed in the making of this dessert nor did I whip up a bowl of billowy cream.
My breakfast pie was a luscious custard of roasted red kuri squash lightened with mostly whole milk and a bit of cream. The bite of fresh gingerroot gave this pie more character than your typical Thanksgiving dessert but what I love the most is forgoing flakey pie crust for graham cracker crumb crust. Not only was it a better match with the earthy custard, it also took no time at all to make. I assembled my pie in less than 30 minutes and then it was off to an hour long baking in the oven. That’s one speedy pie!
The recipe from the kitchn caught my attention the day it was published. At that point, I still had my doubts about using a graham cracker crust. It seemed like a shortcut, a cheat. However, L.V. Anderson’s column You’re Doing It Wrong provided all the persuasion I needed. What sealed the deal was that the article pointed out the cohesiveness of the pumpkin custard filling is more than sufficient to hold the crumb crust in place. Why did it not occur to me before?
Can you see that clean and neat cut for First Slice? I gently warmed the bottom of the pie plate over the stove to loosen the crust. My knife slipped effortlessly through silky custard. A picture perfect slice was easily lifted from the pie with the standard cake server. I was absolutely flabbergast especially since my last tart somehow stuck stubbornly to the pan and I had to scrape broken pieces into little piles. A huge smile slowly spread from ear to ear as I carefully plated my Ginger Not-Pumpkin Pie.
Most people argue that whipped cream is mandatory for the enjoyment of pumpkin pie. Well, I ran out. Seriously. Even though the recipe called for 1 cup of cream, I could scrounge for barely 1/4 cup. I made up the volume with more whole milk and the texture of the custard did not suffer. However, the pie looked so forlorn without a blob of white cloud. Rather than going to the store, I topped my breakfast with a big spoonful of 2% Greek yogurt. It was oddly fitting since I ate mine for breakfast.
Normally I share all my dessert because sharing is caring. Well, not today. This pie was something special that I made just for me and Little Brother. We plan to indulge in pie everyday this weekend. Who knows how long it will be before I cave in to my pie cravings next time?
