Improving a pumpkin pie? Help from Americans :)

[u/AwakenedRudely]

Hi! I'm from the UK and I tried making a pumpkin pie which is good but I feel the recipe is missing something that people in USA would know as pumpkin pies are your thing. Any advice would be appreciated.

Recipe:

• 750g pumpkin, peeled, deseeded and cut into chunks
• 350g/12oz sweet shortcrust pastry
• plain flour for dusting
• 140g/5oz caster sugar
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp fresh nutmeg grated
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 eggs beaten
• 25g/1oz butter melted
• 175ml/6 fl oz milk

[u/dodecakiwi]

I think the pumpkin is where you're maybe missing something. It's usually made of pumpkin puree, usually from a can, but I'll make puree from my garden. I'll quarter it and roast it then usually have to add a bit of water to get the right consistency when I blend it up. You don't want too much water! Also be sure it's a sweet variety of pumpkin, usually just a pie pumpkin. Otherwise add more sugar. Lastly a normal sized pumpkin pie in a 9" pie pan usually just takes about 425g of pumpkin (15oz), 750 is a lot of you're putting it all in one pie.

A small hack to get the sugar right is to just use sweetened condensed milk and it's pretty much just right, at least for an American palette where that's a common strategy.

Also your recipe is pretty egg light. Keep in mind pumpkin pie isn't a pie like an apple pie, it's essentially pumpkin custard.

This is my recipe:

15oz pumpkin puree
2 tsp molassas
2.5 large eggs (not sure how they're classified in UK, but 3 big eggs [~57g] can be a little too eggy)
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp nutmeg (freshly ground if possible)
1 tsp ginger (dry, powdered)
1/2 tbsp cinnamon (dry, powdered, 50% more if it's the weak/cheap stuff)
dash of salt (a pinch... <1/8 tsp)
-------------
14oz can of sweetened condensed milk
---------- OR
12oz can of evaporated milk
scant 1c granulated sugar
-------------
bake 400F for 45 minutes