Belle’s Whole-Pumpkin Pie

Name: Belle's Whole-Pumpkin Pie
Yield: One 9-inch pie
Ingredients: 1 small sugar pumpkin, or a 15-oz can pure pumpkin (not pie filling); 1 premade 9-inch pie crust; 3 eggs; 1 1/2 cups vanilla ice cream, melted (about 4 scoops); 1/4 cup brown sugar; 1/2 tsp salt; 1 tsp cinnamon + 1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice; Whipped cream, to serve

Belle makes her pie from a small sugar pumpkin, not a carving one, and drains the purée so it bakes up smooth instead of watery. Her secret: melted vanilla ice cream in place of the canned milk.

One 9-inch pie
About 3 hours + cooling

A painted homemade pumpkin pie with a smooth deep-orange filling and golden crimped crust, one slice cut out with whipped cream, beside a small sugar pumpkin on a candlelit Thanksgiving table.

Ingredients

1 small sugar pumpkin, or a 15-oz can pure pumpkin (not pie filling)
1 premade 9-inch pie crust
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups vanilla ice cream, melted (about 4 scoops)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon + 1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
Whipped cream, to serve

You’ll wanta 9-inch pie dish, a blender, a fine-mesh sieve and foil.

Method

Roast: Halve, scoop, cut side down at 350°F (175°C) ~45 min, till fork-tender.
Purée: Peel, blend smooth, drain in a sieve 30 min. Measure 2 cups.
Mix: Cool the melted ice cream. Whisk in eggs, purée, sugar, salt, spices.
Fill: Crust on a sheet pan. Fill ~80%, foil over the crust edge.
Bake: 425°F (220°C) 15 min, foil off, then 350°F 50-60 min.
Done: Middle barely wobbles, 175°F (80°C). Cool 1 hour, then fridge.

Inspired by @reidstestkitchen.