Pumpkin butterscotch pie
In honour of Canadian Thanksgiving, I thought a little pumpkin pie was in order. We've made the standard pumpkin pie (right from the recipe on the can of Libby's pumpkin) several times now, so we were due for a change of pace. Luckily, I came across a recipe for pumpkin-butterscotch pie in Bon Appétit Desserts, which married several favourite things of David's: pumpkin pie, whipped cream and Scotch. What more could you possibly want for a fall dessert?
Recipe
from Bon Appétit Desserts9" blind-baked pie crust, room temperatureFilling3/4 cup (packed) brown sugar, divided2 tbsp butter1/4 tsp salt1/4 cup Scotch1-1/4 cups heavy whipping cream1 cup canned pure pumpkin3 large eggs1 tsp ground cinnamon1/2 tsp ground ginger1/4 tsp ground cloves1/4 tsp ground allspiceWhipped Cream1 cup chilled heavy whipping cream1 tbsp sugar1 tbsp ScotchPreheat oven to 350 F. Combine 1/2 cup brown sugar, butter and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Boil until deep brown, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Add Scotch, then cream (mixture will bubble vigorously) and whisk until smooth. Return to medium heat and stir until most caramel bits dissolve. Strain butterscotch mixture and cool to room temperature. Whisk remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar and pumpkin in large bowl. Whisk in eggs, then cinnamon, ginger, cloves and allspice. Add reserved butterscotch mixture; whisk to blend. Pour filling into crust. Bake pie until filling is just set, about 50 minutes. Cool to room temperature, about 3 hours.For whipped cream, using electric mixer, beat cream, sugar and Scotch in medium bowl until peaks form. Serve with pie.
Musings
A few notes on preparation: Speyburn 10-year Scotch was our Scotch of choice for this recipe.The pie could have probably been baked for just a touch longer, as the filling was still quite creamy (mind you, it has held its shape nicely, so perhaps the creaminess is just a product of this particular recipe). David was surprised that it didn't have a strong butterscotch flavour, considering that when he sampled the cream-butterscotch mixture before I mixed it in, it had a potent butterscotch flavour. The Scotch whipped cream, which was strong when sampled by itself, was delicious when paired with the pumpkin pie (David also thoroughly enjoyed adding it to his morning coffee). Overall, a lovely pie and with a slightly different flavour profile than the standard pumpkin pie, which makes for a nice change. David declared it to be the best breakfast he'd had in awhile.