the butter lab's biscoff pumpkin flan pie with burnt cinnamon whipped cream
As a kid, I loved pumpkin pie. But as I got older, I grew to love it less and less. I’ve come to realize that one reason it’s such a divisive pie for people is the texture; pumpkin pie can be—and I say this with affection and nostalgia—a bit pasty.
When I set out to create a pumpkin pie adult-me would love, I had a couple of things in mind. I wanted it to be easy to make and hard to mess up. And I wanted to it to be more silky and custardy than pasty. I realized I wanted it to be more like a flan—which is when I realized how similar the two recipes are to each other. In fact, the back of a Libby’s pumpkin puree can has a “new fashioned” recipe for pumpkin pie filling that calls for sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk, the main two ingredients in most flans. I liked the idea of using a whole can of each, which I do for some flans, and adding a can of pumpkin to make a simple, delicious three-can pumpkin pie. I also increased the eggs to four, the amount I use in flans. I added just enough warm spices to make it sing without overpowering it. (I’m not a fan of assertive flavors, like raw or crystallized ginger, in my pumpkin pie.)
And instead of making a flan caramel, I baked it in a Biscoff cookie crust—for the delightful way the crunch contrasts with the smooth filling, and how perfectly the warm Biscoff spices complement the pumpkin. Then I baked the whole thing in a water bath, the way you would a cheesecake. (Minus the cheesecake; sorry to be such a hater in this post, but I’m also not really a fan of cream cheese and pumpkin.)
The flan pie came out exactly as I hoped it would. Better yet, the water bath not only made the custard dreamy-smooth, it also made it pretty impossible to mess up. A traditional pumpkin pie can crack and become grainy. It can also make a traditional pie crust soggy and unpleasant. But this one avoided those pitfalls and, at the same time, was the easiest pumpkin pie I’ve ever made. I didn’t have to boil down the pumpkin or strain the filling the way I used to do; I just whisked three cans together with some eggs, spices, salt and vanilla. It felt like cheating. It also felt like magic.
I served it with whipped cream, flaky sea salt, and caramel sauce (store-bought is fine, like the salted one from Trader Joe’s). And with the time I saved from not baking a traditional labor-intensive pumpkin pie, I went ahead and made a luxe burnt cinnamon whipped cream, a recipe from the State Bird Provisions cookbook. (The recipe actually sounds more difficult than it is—it’s just a matter of broiling some broken cinnamon sticks for a few minutes and infusing them in the heavy cream.) I included the whipped cream recipe below, but feel free to substitute regular whipped cream.
Enough preamble. Here’s my three-can pumpkin pie. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Biscoff Pumpkin Flan Pie with burnt cinnamon whipped cream
Inspired and largely adapted from the Flan de Nutella recipe in My Mexico City Kitchen by Gabriela Cámara and Ina Garten’s Pumpkin Flan with Maple Caramel recipe.
Makes one 9-inch pie.
INGREDIENTS
FOR THE CRUST
1 8.8-ounce package Biscoff cookies
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 tablespoon granulated sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
FOR THE FILLING
1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree (Libby’s is best)
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 14-ounce can evaporated milk
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
TO SERVE (optional)
burnt cinnamon whipped cream (recipe below)
caramel sauce
flaky sea salt
METHOD
FOR THE CRUST: Butter a 9-inch pie plate, and set aside. In a food processor, pulse the cookies into fine crumbs, about 1 minute. (You should have about 1 1/2 cups.) Transfer crumbs to a medium bowl and stir in the salt and sugar. Add the melted butter and stir until all of the dry ingredients are uniformly moist. (You can do this with your fingers.) Press the crust evenly into the base and up the sides of the pie plate. Freeze the crust while you center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake for 10 minutes. Allow to cool on a wire rack while you make the filling. Leave the oven on.
FOR THE FILLING: Bring a full kettle of water to a boil. In a stand mixer or a large bowl, whisk the pumpkin, sweetened condensed milk, and evaporated milk. Add the rest of the ingredients and whisk until well-combined and smooth, making sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl.
Pour the mixture into the pie pan to just below the crust. (You will have leftover filling which you can bake in a ramekin in it’s own water bath). Place the pie in a roasting pan and fill the roasting pan with enough boiling water to reach at least halfway up the outside of the pie plate. Bake on the center rack for 70-80 minutes, until the custard is just set. It will be firm but still jiggle slightly in the middle; a knife inserted into the center will come out clean. Remove the pie from the water bath, place on a cooling rack and cool completely. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours and up to two days. Serve with burnt cinnamon whipped cream (recipe follows), caramel sauce, and a sprinkling of flaky sea salt.
burnt cinnamon whipped cream
Adapted from State Bird Provisions by J. J. Goode, Nicole Krasinski, and Stuart Brioza.
Makes about 2 cups.
INGREDIENTS
1 cup heavy cream
3 cinnamon sticks
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 tablespoon brown sugar or granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
METHOD
Warm the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until just steaming. Remove from the heat and cover to keep warm.
Position an oven rack about 4 inches from the heat source and preheat the broiler. Using a mortar and pestle, break the cinnamon sticks into large shards and spread them on a baking sheet. Broil until the cinnamon is blackened at the edges, about 2 minutes. Add the sticks to the warm cream. Cover the pan and let steep for 45 minutes. Transfer the mixture to an airtight container and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or up to 12 hours.
Strain the chilled cream through a fine-mesh sieve into the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the sour cream, sugar, and vanilla bean paste and whisk on medium-low speed until the mixture holds medium peaks, about 4 minutes. If not using immediately, cover and refrigerate for up to 2 hours, gently rewhipping by hand before serving if necessary.