Ginger Pumpkin Pie

Maple Pumpkin Pie 1

The maple in this recipe is very subtle; the seasoning, and heavy custard, pretty much overpowers it. If you want a more distinctly maple flavor, use one of the following two. You may also find that this is not sweet enough; to sweeten it more, incorporate up to 1/2 cup sugar with the eggs. All in all, this is pretty close to traditional pumpkin pie flavor, with a hint of maple.

Maple Pumpkin Pie 2

The maple flavor in this much richer than that of the previous recipe. We use a combination of maple syrup and maple sugar to provide give us the maple intensity we want; maple syrup alone is more delicate, and maple sugar has a heavy richness (like brown sugar), which we don't want to overpower other flavors. You can vary the proportions of maple syrup and maple sugar, remembering that when increasing the syrup, decrease the amount of pumpkin, and the amount of maple sugar, by the same amounts.

Maple Pumpkin Pie 3

This variation lightens up the previous version just a bit; we still use some cream, and keep all the eggs. That quarter-cup of plain sugar is optional; with it, this pie will be pretty sweet; without it, it will still be sweeter than the first Maple Pumpkin Pie recipe given above.

* Pastry decorations are nothing more than extra pie crust either cut out with a cookie cutter (pumpkin and leaf shapes are great!) or cut them out freehand. Bake the shapes on an air-bake cookie sheet and decorate your cooked pumpkin pie with them.