All of your pumpkin baking questions, answered

Canned pumpkin purée ought to comprise no components and may have only one ingredient on the label: pumpkin. That label can really be a bit complicated, because the USDA permits some sorts of winter squash to be referred to as “pumpkin” when processed and canned. (They don’t draw a tough line between what defines a squash and a pumpkin.) So, even when it’s labeled “100% pumpkin,” a can would possibly embrace purée from Dickinson, butternut, Hubbard, Boston Marrow, or Golden Scrumptious squash, that are shut botanical relations to the orange pumpkins we’re most conversant in. As an example, the ever present Libby’s canned pumpkin is puréed from a particular sort of Dickinson pumpkin … which is technically a wide range of squash! Fortunately, all of those winter squashes are scrumptious, bake interchangeably, and have the signature orange hue and dense texture you’d count on from a real pumpkin. So long as your canned purée simply says “pumpkin” as its sole ingredient, try to be positive. 

For those who’d wish to benefit from contemporary pumpkins, you can also make your individual pumpkin purée to bake with, fairly than reaching for a can. For the perfect taste, select a sugar pumpkin (additionally typically labeled a “cooking” or “pie pumpkin”) within the four- to eight-pound vary. You’ll must pierce it throughout to create vent holes, then par-cook it within the microwave for about 10 minutes. After halving and seeding the partially cooked pumpkin (simpler to do now that it’s softer!), roast it at 350°F for about 45 minutes (for a five-pound pumpkin) till the flesh is well pierced with a fork. Subsequent, scoop out the flesh and purée it in a meals processor or mash it by hand. Drain off its extra moisture, then bake with it as you’ll canned pumpkin purée. See the complete particulars right here.

Images and meals styling by Liz Neily

How can I take advantage of up leftover pumpkin purée?

Not each recipe will name for a full can of pumpkin purée (although our Most Pumpkin Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread does!), and do-it-yourself purée could make greater than you want for a specific recipe. To make use of up the leftovers, there are just a few methods you may make use of. In case your recipe requires half a can of pumpkin (about 1 cup), you may double the recipe to make use of up a full can and provides away the additional baked items or stash them within the freezer.

Alternatively, freeze leftover purée in half-cup increments in a greased muffin tin; as soon as strong, switch the parts to an hermetic freezer bag and freeze for as much as a 12 months. Then, defrost what you want and bake as directed. And in case you have only a small quantity leftover, it’ll preserve for just a few days within the fridge. To make use of it up, you may calmly sweeten it and swirl it into your morning oatmeal or yogurt, or attempt mixing it right into a smoothie. Or use it in recipes that don’t name for a lot pumpkin, akin to Harvest Pumpkin Scones (2/3 cup), Pumpkin Biscotti (1/2 cup), or Pumpkin Swirl Cake (1/2 cup). Learn extra.

In case your pumpkin pie recipe makes extra filling than your pie shell can maintain, don’t discard the leftovers! Switch the additional filling to particular person custard cups or ramekins and bake them alongside the pie; they need to take about 25 to half-hour to cook dinner at 400°F. Plus, it’s a good way to sneak a style of the pie earlier than serving it.

Images by Rick Holbrook; meals styling by Kaitlin Wayne

Can I substitute canned pumpkin pie filling for pumpkin purée?

Canned pumpkin pie filling and canned pumpkin purée are two very totally different components. A can of pumpkin purée has only one ingredient — pumpkin — making it a impartial base which you could sweeten, spice, and incorporate into your recipe as you would like. Canned pumpkin pie filling (typically additionally referred to as “pumpkin pie combine”), however, is already sweetened and seasoned. Together with pumpkin, most canned fillings embrace sugar, salt, spices, and typically different components, and are supposed to be combined with eggs and dairy for fast and simple pie baking. We don’t advocate substituting one for the opposite: For those who substitute canned filling for canned purée in a recipe, you would possibly find yourself with double the sweetness and spices that you just intend, as an example.

A pumpkin pie is historically made with a custard filling that incorporates eggs, and when cracks kind on the floor of a baked pumpkin pie, it’s the results of overcooking the custard. Because the eggs coagulate and thicken the filling, they begin to tighten up. In the event that they tighten up an excessive amount of, they create fissures on the edges and typically in the course of your pie. Pulling the pie out of the oven inside its optimum baking window — absolutely baked, however not overbaked (see extra beneath) — will stop any cracks from forming. (But when your pie does crack, you may at all times cowl it with whipped cream and serve it — it’ll nonetheless style scrumptious.) Learn extra.

Images and meals styling by Liz Neily

How can I inform when pumpkin pie is completed?

To examine in your pumpkin pie to evaluate doneness, give the pie plate a wiggle within the oven. If all the filling of the pie is jiggling and largely liquid, it’s not prepared but. A accurately baked pumpkin pie will jiggle extra like Jell-O, with a 2″ ring across the edges that appears set and a 4″ ring within the middle that appears not-quite-baked. If the filling barely jiggles or doesn’t transfer in any respect, it’s sadly overbaked. Learn extra.

Since pumpkin pie is made with a custard base containing eggs, it ought to at all times be saved within the fridge, ideally in a shallow, lidded storage container, the place it’ll preserve for 3 to 4 days. For those who’re seeking to make your pumpkin pie forward of time, you can also make each the pie shell and the filling forward, however don’t assemble and bake the pie till the day you intend to serve it to keep away from a soggy crust. Learn extra. 

Pumpkin pie spice incorporates no pumpkin however is as a substitute a mix of heat spices that complement pumpkin and different fall flavors. Each model has its personal proprietary mixture of spices; King Arthur’s is a mix of floor ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. You may add this versatile combine as a substitute of measuring out particular person spices in recipes like pumpkin pie filling (in fact!), pumpkin scones, pumpkin biscotti, pumpkin ice cream, or wherever {that a} mix of heat baking spices is welcome. To make your individual pumpkin pie spice mix, you may combine collectively 3/4 teaspoon floor cinnamon plus 1/4 teaspoon every floor nutmeg, ginger, and allspice or cloves.

Images and meals styling by Liz Neily

How can I increase pumpkin taste in my bakes?

It may typically be onerous to style pumpkin in a baked good: As a result of uncooked pumpkin is generally water — as much as 90% — it actually doesn’t have a lot taste. Slightly than including extra purée to your recipe, which may make your bake soggy, focus the purée as a substitute — a method we use in our recipes for Fudgy-Chewy Pumpkin Cookies and The Most Pumpkin Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread. Slowly cook dinner the pumpkin purée on the stovetop to evaporate extra moisture and caramelize the pumpkin, leading to purée with a deeper, extra advanced taste. You may also add spices to the purée as you cook dinner it; heating spices releases their oils, making them extra flavorful and aromatic. Simply observe that by getting ready the pumpkin purée this fashion, you’ll be lowering the general liquid in your recipe, so you could must compensate by including in extra milk or water to attain the meant consistency and hydration of your bake. Learn extra.