Dulce De Leche Cream Cheese Pumpkin Pie

Dulce de Leche Cream Cheese Pumpkin Pie

This Pumpkin Pie has 3 layers of ultimate holiday written all over it. I'm giving away my secrets to amazing pumpkin pie in this recipe! A buttery, flaky crust and 2 interesting secret ingredients that I swear by when I make Pumpkin Pie. I like to always use Pink Himalayan Sea Salt, it just adds that inexplicable umami and here's the strange one...pepper! A pinch of pepper makes it delicious, you can't tell what it is, but it makes you wonder why the pumpkin pie is so darn addicting! These special ingredients along with the other layers, makes this once in a year treat all worth it.

INGREDIENTS:

Pie Crust (the full recipe makes 2 crusts: I suggest saving the rest in the freezer, you ALWAYS need a prepared pie crust hangin' around, for last minute pies. Or just double the filling recipe and make 2!)

• 2 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons Himalayan Pink Sea Salt

• 2 1/4 cups unsalted butter, chilled and cubed

• 2/3 cup ice cold water

Pie Filling (You'll be doing it in separate layers and putting in the oven 3 times. TRUST me, it's worth it.) What I love about baking Pumpkin Pie is that everything can literally be made ahead of time and placed in the fridge. The flavors of the spices fuse together even more and even the cheesecake filling prepared ahead of time makes it so much easier.

Pumpkin Layer

• 2 cups (15oz can) pumpkin puree

• 3 large eggs

• 1 and 1/4 cups dark brown sugar

• 1 Tablespoon cornstarch

• 1/2 teaspoon Himalayan Pink Sea Salt

• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

• pinch of pepper

• 1/2 teaspoon ginger zested on a microplane

• 1/4 teaspoon ground or freshly grated nutmeg

• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

• 1 cup heavy cream

• 1/4 cup milk

• 1 large egg beaten with 1 teaspoon milk

Cheesecake Layer

• 1 8oz package cream cheese, softened

• 1/4 cup sugar

• 1 tsp vanilla

• 1 egg

• pinch of Pink Himalayan Sea Salt

• 1 can of condensed milk for topping

Directions for the Pie Crust:

• Mix the flour and salt together in a large bowl. Add 2 1/4 cups unsalted butter, chilled and cubed.

• Using a pastry cutter or two forks, cut the butter and shortening until the mixture resembled coarse meal. I use a pastry cutter for this step. It’s definitely a lot less messy and really cheap to add to your baking tool collection.

• Measure 2/3 cup of water. Add ice. Stir it around. From that, measure 2/3 cup of water (since the ice has melted a bit). Slowly drizzle in the very cold water, stirring with a large spatula after every Tablespoon of water that you add. Do not add any more water than you need to. Stop adding water when the dough begins to clump.

• Roll out the dough on a floured work surface. The dough should come together easily and should not feel overly sticky.

• Form the dough into a ball.

• Divide in half. Flatten each half into 1-inch thick discs using your hands. Wrap each tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour (or up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 2 weeks).

Once You're Ready to Make the Crust, Preheat Oven to 375F.

• Roll out the chilled pie crust into a circular shape to fit the pie pan with at least an inch of overhang. I would do this pie for a 10" deep crust.

• Trim the edges with a knife and crimp it with a fork or create pleats using your fingers.

• Brush with an eggwash and pre-bake for 9-10 minutes. I like my eggwash to have a nice, yellow golden and shiny finish, so I only use egg yolks to brush. It makes it gorgeous, so no whites. Remember to always save your whites to freeze in a tupperware, don't throw them out. You're going to need them for something else like swiss buttercream, macarons, meringue, marshmallows, dacquoise etc. Oh, and Sometimes I add milk to stretch the wash, if I'm running out.

Directions for the Filling:

Preheat the Oven to 350F

• In One Bowl, cream the sugar and cream cheese until smooth. Add egg, vanilla and pinch of salt until combined.

• In another bowl, whisk the pumpkin, eggs, and brown sugar together until combined. Add the cornstarch, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, pepper, cream, and milk. Vigorously whisk until everything is combined.

Start Bakin' the Pie:

• Start with the cheesecake filling in the bottom of your pie and bake at 350, until it is set. Do not overbake. It can be jiggly, but not cracked. Take out of the oven and allow to cool. You could place in the freeze to expedite the process.

• Then, pour your pumpkin filling on top of that layer and allow that to bake. Same process as the cheesecake. With any custard, you just want it to be jiggly and semi-set. Baked custards usually finish setting when it cools down in the refrigerator.

• Once your pumpkin filling layer is set, drizzle the top layer with a generous amount of condensed milk. Sprinkle a pinch of Pink Sea Salt on Top. I literally mean a pinch when I say a pinch for each of these steps. Flavoring along the way in a minimal amount makes a difference. It's just like cooking.

• Place it back in the oven to caramelize the condensed milk.

• Allow to cool and place in the refrigerator to chill.

Pies are ALWAYS better with fresh whipped cream on top. Please don't use the non-dairy whipped cream. You put all of this hard work into it with quality ingredients, you don't wanna screw it all up. Top it off with love by whipping up some heavy cream with a little bit of sugar and vanilla to taste. This ladies and gents is called a Chantilly Cream, fancy huh?

And There You Go! A Dulce De Leche Cream Cheese Pumpkin Pie. :)

Muah x 1,000...

Greggy