Post Punk Kitchen Forum

What do you look for in pumpkin pie? Do you like it sweeter or do you like it just sweet enough and prefer the pumpkin to be more pronounced? Do you like it richer? How much spice do you like and what spices do you like or what spices turn you off? Any other thoughts?

To me this is pumpkin pie perfection! I'm working on veganizing it, but it's super rich and wonderful. The secret is the molasses!
Mommy’s Pumpkin Pie
1 qt. pumpkin
1 ½ c sugar
½ molasses
1 t ginger
1 c milk (almond milk?)
1 t cinnamon
½ t nutmeg
1 t salt
2 eggs, beaten (2 eggs worth of egg replacer?)
1 T melted butter (earth balance?)

Bake in a single crust at 375 for 15 minutes and at 350 for 45 minutes.

That looks interesting. I think a 1/2 cup of silken tofu or 1/4 cup of cornstarch (or a combination) would work for that. Almond milk would be fine, especially the Silk which is pretty thick. Maybe go a little shy of a cup.

Spices and creaminess for me.

I like it just sweet enough, I want the pumpkin to be the star. The spices are key for me, and so is the texture. I go for smoothness and richness, rather than creaminess. If it's too wet, it ain't right. And I don't think it can be TOO rich! I want to taste the nutmeg - just the right amount of nutmeg. Too much cinnamon ruins it for me.

I've never liked pumpkin pie, but I wonder if making it with coconut milk would make it good.

This is right on the mark - though I have to add that we've been selling these (not vegan) amaretto pumpkin pies at work and OMG I need to make a vegan version of it because that sounds like an amazing combination. I'm just not sure how much amaretto you'd need so that you can actually taste it.

MMmm... I look for smooth pumpkin-y goodness. I agree with going easy on the cinnamon.
And once I had a pumpkin pie that had cardamom in it - BLEH!!! It was WAAAAY too much. Gross.

I really want some smooth pumpkin, with a hint of well-mixed but not overdone spices, and some nice sweetness to round it out. Oh, and I always use maple syrup for the sweet aspect of my pumpkin pies. I never really adhere to a written recipe, since I just use a whole pumpkin that "looks" about the right size for how many pies I want to make. I always taste before I pour into the pie crust, though. And it's always got to have the consistency that I like - thick and smooth almost like a slightly thicker than normal pudding.

The ingredients I use are:

blue sweet meat pumpkins that I roast - from my coolest farmer friend ever!
almond milk (homemade - I make it much creamier than store-bought kind)
tapioca starch
maple syrup
molasses
cinnamon, ginger, cloves and/or allspice, nutmeg

Sometimes I'll add a tiny splash of safflower oil or canola oil, but I like trying to make it nearly fat-free (yes, I know there's fat in almond milk). It usually ends up quite nice.

Plus, a crust that is too hard always kills it for me... for ANY pie - not just pumpkin. So DON'T OVER BAKE THE CRUST! :)

I made it once with coconut milk, and it changed my life.