Pumpkin Spice Latte Pie

Photo by Eric Slatkin

I've recently been a part of  launching a new stop-motion digital How-To series called Assembly Line. We started out making sandwiches, and now we're  launching our Thanksgiving videos. We're doing a series on pies, both savory and sweet, to celebrate fall's best day.

I've never been the biggest fan of pumpkin pie, even though I love pumpkin and I love the spices that go into it. Most of the pumpkin pies I've had or made are a little too one-note or too bland for me. When we started thinking about doing a pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving, we knew we wanted to do something a little different.

The inspiration for this recipe is the beloved (controversially?) ubiquitous "Pumpkin Spice Latte." If people could love a drink this much, maybe coffee was this missing flavor in the pie? 

Adding just a small amount of espresso to the mix adds a note of depth and complexity to the pie. Have you ever added instant espresso to chocolate cake or brownies? It enriches the chocolate favor. Here, it enriches the overall flavor and you can taste a hint of the nutty bitter coffee been. I also add the espresso to the whipped cream. I love the flavor of coffee, and it definitely enhances the whipped cream, but it's not essential if you don't want too much coffee in your dessert. Although,  it helps liven things up after a rich heavy meal.

Different pumpkin pie recipes use different types of ingredients. A lot include sweetened condensed milk, but I often find those recipes too sweet. Some use just milk, some use cream, and here I'm using both milk and cream, in addition to some of the other familiar ingredients. The resulting texture is silky and smooth. For me, this pie has the right density; it's not too flimsy and not too firm. This is my new go-to pumpkin pie recipe, and I hope you enjoy it, too.

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Pumpkin Spice Latte Pie

Makes 1 pie

for the crust-

1¼ cup all purpose flour (I like King Arthur Brand)

1 tablespoon sugar

½ teaspoon kosher salt

½ cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cubed

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

3 tablespoons ice cold water

for the filling-

1¾ (15 oz.) cups pure unsweetened pumpkin purée

½ cup brown sugar

¼ cup granulated sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

1-2 tablespoons instant espresso powder (1 or 2 depending on desired intensity, I use Medaglia D'oro brand)

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground ginger

¼ teaspoon ground allspice

⅛ teaspoon ground cloves

few gratings of fresh nutmeg (about an ⅛ teaspoon)

1 cup heavy cream

⅓ cup milk (I use whole, but any kind works)

3 large eggs

espresso whipped cream-

1 cup heavy whipping cream

2 teaspoons instant espresso powder

2 teaspoons sugar

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400°F (205°C).

for the crust-

To a food processor, add the flour sugar and salt. Pulse a few times to combine the mixture. Add the cubed butter to the dry ingredients, pulse until pea-sized pieces of dough are formed.  (You can use a pastry cutter or just your hands to combine the butter if you do not have a food processor).

To the dough, add the apple cider vinegar and 1 tablespoon of water at a time. Pulse until the dough comes together but is still crumbly and not too wet. It should stick together between your fingers when squeezed, if it doesn’t add another tablespoon of water. Roll the dough into a disc that’s about an inch thick - this will make it easier to roll out into a circular shape. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least one hour.  

Onto a lightly floured surface, roll the pie dough out until you have a 12-inch even circle. Carefully transfer the dough into a 9-inch pie tin. Lightly press the dough into the pan. Trim any overhanging crust. Decoratively crimp the edges of the crust with your fingers, or you can decorate the edges with the tines of a fork.

for the filling-

Combine the pumpkin purée, brown sugar, granulated sugar, espresso powder, salt and spices in a large bowl. Whisk in the cream and milk, then whisk in the eggs. Pour filling into prepared pie crust.

bake the pie-

Place the pie in the oven for 15 minutes at 400°F. After 15 minutes, lower the heat to 350°F and bake for 35-45 more minutes (it's super important to start off at a high temp and then lower - if you stay at 400 the crust will get burnt and the filling won't cook properly), or until a toothpick inserted into the batter comes out mostly pumpkin-free. A little pumpkin and dampness is fine, but you do not want super loose pumpkin batter on it. Also, you will be able to tell if the pumpkin is done by the amount it jiggles in the pan. You only want the slightest wobble in the center of the pie.

If the crust starts to get too brown, you can cover the crust edges with aluminum foil and continue to cook the filling.

Once cooked, let the pie cool on a rack completely. Refrigerate once the pie has cooled, and serve either cool or at room temp.

for the espresso whipped cream-

While the pie is cooling, prepare the whipped cream. Combine all of the ingredients in a large cool bowl. Using an electric mixer or a whisk, beat everything together until stiff peaks form. Be careful not to over-whip your cream.

to serve-

Top the pie with the espresso whipped cream. Garnish with ground cinnamon and/or more espresso powder. Slice and serve!

Savory Pumpkin Noodle Kugel

Growing up kugel was completely absent from our Russian Jewish immigrant table. We had matzo balls, latkes, chopped liver, borscht, stuffed cabbage, herring... you name it. But kugel never showed up. (That said, somehow my mom's very un-Russian famous dish was noodles and cottage cheese... in a way that's a stripped down deconstructed savory form of kugel.)

Sometimes I ate kugel at friends' houses or at shul or wherever Jews congregated with homemade food. I am not a picky eater. I never was, but kugel always rubbed me the wrong way. Sure, I'd eat it but then immediately think,"Why is this so sweet and dense? Why does it have raisins??? Why?! Why cottage cheese??? Why not any other creamy cheese that isn't salty and dry and curdy?" I just didn't get it. I mean I got it, but I wanted it to be better. I wanted more for kugel.

The picture above isn't glamorous because kugel isn't glamorous. For me, kugel is meant to be a dish served for a crowd that is hearty, filling, and comforting. It should elicit feelings of warmth and sentimentality. It should be something that can be made ahead, eaten warm or cold, right out of the oven or as leftovers for lunch the next day. It should be something that doesn't detract from a main dish, but makes the meal feel more complete. Kugel should be able to find a place at any holiday or shabbat table. But it needs a serious makeover...

This brings me to this recipe. I'll start by saying this is one of the easiest recipes I've ever developed; if you can boil pasta and combine stuff in a bowl, you're good to go. I've actually found quite a few variations of traditional kugel out their in the world... but I wanted to try to make one that I could personally get excited about. If you're a sweet-kugel kind of person, more power to you. You could probably eliminate the savory elements in this recipe and add about a 1/2 cup of sugar and maybe some cinnamon and a little butter and you'll have yourself sweet pumpkin kugel (but maybe don't add raisins?).

This kugel is reminiscent of traditional kugel in that it is made with Manishevitz egg noodles and has a custardy quality, but it's a little unexpected. The truth is this kugel veers into mac n' cheese territory. It also has pumpkin, and I'm the first to concede that pumpkin is problematically ubiquitous... but it's good and nutritious and that's what I care about more. It uses ricotta instead of cottage cheese. It has a touch of maple syrup to balance the flavors, and it has garlic to highlight its savoriness. I added sage because I wanted an herbaceous note. I'm not skipping out on eggs or heavy cream, because I don't use a whole lot of either and also because kugel is special.

And I make it with the delicate balance of reverence to tradition, simultaneous hope for old things becoming new, and with love. Lot's of love.

Savory Pumpkin Noodle Kugel

Serves 6-8

1 lb. egg noodles

1 15 oz. can unsweetened pureed pumpkin, or 1¾ cups fresh cooked pureed pumpkin

4 eggs, beaten

1 cup whole milk ricotta

½ cup creme fraiche or sour cream

½ cup heavy cream or milk

¾ cup shredded gruyere or swiss cheese (optional)

2 garlic cloves, minced fine

1½ tablespoons maple syrup

1 tablespoon chopped sage, about 3 medium leaves

¾ teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

freshly ground pepper, to taste

cooking oil spray

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Start by bringing a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the egg noodles to the boiling water and cook until al dente (cooked but firm), about 6-7 minutes or as directed on the package. Err on the side of undercooking your noodles, they will continue to cook in the oven, and this will prevent them from getting too mushy. Cool and reserve the cooked noodles.

In a large bowl, combine the pumpkin puree, beaten eggs, whole milk ricotta, creme fraiche, heavy cream, shredded cheese (optional), minced garlic, maple syrup, chopped sage, kosher salt, freshly ground nutmeg, and freshly ground black pepper. Using a spoon, combine everything together until incorporated.

Add the cooked egg noodles to the pumpkin puree mixture. Stir until all of the noodles are coated in the mixture.

Spray an 8 X 11 baking dish with cooking spray. Transfer the egg noodle mixture into the sprayed baking dish. Cover the dish with foil, and bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes uncover and bake for 20-30 more minutes, or until the top of the kugel is golden brown and the kugel has set and is firm.

To make ahead:

The kugel mixture can be made a few hours ahead of time and cooked just prior to serving.

Alternatively, the kugel can be fully cooked up to a day in advance and reheated just prior to serving.