A Thanksgiving Dessert Twist: Black-Bottom Maple Pumpkin Pie
Written by Shaina of Food for my Family.
Sheets covered the couches to protect them from the greasy little hands that would scoot away from the table and be wiping their hands on them faster than you could spread butter on your roll. The kitchen was always bustling, but it was full with only one body, that of my grandmother.
She would hurriedly but with great precision move pots and pans from stove top and oven to serving dishes, all lined up with serving utensils and ready to be whisked away as if by angels out to the dinner table.
Still, if you stood silently and perhaps offered to take a dish to the table for her, you could observe the magic from the corner of the room. If you happened to do so, you’d notice first that the encore to the meal was nowhere to be found.
A plate with carved turkey, homemade gravy in a decorative boat, the dressing in its bowl, a gelatin mold, cranberry sauce, vegetables and baskets upon baskets of rolls to be slathered in bright yellow butter, but the room was void of any sweet eats.
Photos by Shaina Olmanson
It wasn’t until the food had been placed on the table, the grace and thanks given that my grandmother would steal back through the house to her bedroom, where she had carefully stashed the pies, hidden from sight until the end, almost as if unveiling a work of art for the first time.
For many, the pie plays just as an important role in a traditional Thanksgiving dinner as the turkey. Make yours extra special this Thanksgiving. Create it yourself, unveiling it at just the perfect moment, when the dinner guests are full and happy and have forgotten all about the dessert that should follow the meal.
A hidden layer of chocolate in an unassuming pumpkin pie, a ring of roasted pecans and keeping it a secret until the very end just might do the trick.
Black-Bottom Maple Pumpkin Pie
Ingredients
- 1 9-inch pie crust recipe
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate chopped
- 2 cups pumpkin purée homemade and strained
- 3/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 egg yolk
- 4 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon allspice
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg freshly grated
- 8-10 whole pecans
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350º F. Roll out the pie dough and press into the bottom of a 9" pie plate. Chill until dough is stiff. Using pie weights or dry beans to hold the pie crust down and bake for 10 minutes. Take the pie weight off and bake for an additional 10 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring cream just to a boil. Remove from heat and whisk in the chocolate until completely melted. Spread the chocolate into the pre-baked pie crust. Let stand in a cool place to allow chocolate to partially set.
- Mix together the purée, syrup and salt together in a food processor or mixer. Beat in the cream cheese. Add in eggs and egg yolk and beat until incorporated. Stir in vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, allspice and nutmeg. Pour the pumpkin mix slowly over the chocolate and bake at 350º F for 60-70 minutes until a knife inserted 1" from the edge of the crust comes out clean.
- Place pecans along the outside edge of the pie for the last 10 minutes of baking. When the pie is done, remove from oven and allow to cool completely. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Nutrition
I’m linking up to TidyMom‘s Love the Pie event!
What is your favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner? Do you wait the whole meal through for the pie, or is there a dish somewhere in the middle that has your heart?
Cream cheese…maple syrup, flavorful spices, this must have been a real treat!
Ok, that’s it. I love you. What an awesome recipe.
This is awesome! I wonder if I can convince my mom to make this in addition to her normal pumpkin pie (a recipe that comes from my Nana). Yum!
I love reading your writing Shaina!!
and this pie looks AMAZING!!!
Thanks for linking up your beautiful pie!
Delish!!! I’ll take two. Do you deliver?
Okay, so don’t judge me, but I just don’t like milk or dark chocolate with pumpkin. But I totally love this idea, and I want to put a layer of white chocolate on the bottom of my pumpkin pie!
For me, Thanksgiving is really about the green bean casserole. I love the rest of it, but I could seriously eat a casserole dish of the stuff by myself and forgo the rest (except I need a little turkey gravy to mix in with the casserole!) until it comes to pumpkin pie.
It’s gotta be pumpkin, and it’s gotta be covered in whipped cream. Oh, Thanksgiving.
One day I want to taste your green been casserole. It’s a Texas thing, right?
And I’m with you on the whipped cream.
Not just a Texas thing. But still, a delicious thing.
Beautiful and so smart!! I would never have thought to do that, and now I must try it! 🙂
Beautifully written, Shaina! I often wondered how our grandmas got it all done for Thanksgiving (because they DEFINITELY wouldn’t accept help) – and now I know there’s a special kind of magic that lets us whisk it all up in the kitchen. Is it in the genes?
My mom’s cherry pie always has my heart. That’s the pie that you have to be quick about; it goes fast!
Oh. My. Yum. This looks amazing!
Oh my word… this sounds great!!
What a lovely picture you’ve painted. The pie looks delicious! My favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner is refrigerator mashed potatoes–but I only get to have them if we eat with my family. My in-laws don’t see the magic in them that I do.
Wow! Absolutely beautiful! I’d love to see this on my Thanksgiving Dessert Table!
What a stunning pie! Looks amazing.
This is brilliant! I’ve always only sort of like pumpkin pie, but add chocolate and I’m so there!
What a stunning and delicious pie, Shaina!
Lovely story Shaina! And this pie looks scrumptious! Thank you for sharing.
Bernice
What a cute story!! I love that your grandma would hide the pies … (adorable!!) The mixture of classic flavours to create this master piece is simply sensational.
What a fun post. Even though I’m a huge chocolate + pumpkin fan, I’d try a slice of this pie!
I meant to say, even though I’m *not* a huge chocolate + pumpkin fan. 🙂
What a beautiful pie! I love that your grandmother hid the pies, Shaina. Thanks for sharing the heartwarming story. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours! xoxo
I love the way you told this story Shaina, and this pie looks beautiful and delicious!
Looks delicious on the picture and I bet tastes just the same!
Beautiful pie! I love the idea of adding the black bottom and I can’t wait to try this.
Love the look of this, and I’m not a pumpkin pie fan! I may just celebrate US thanksgiving too this year…
I love that your grandmother hid the pies, Shaina. Thanks for sharing the heartwarming story. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours, Thanks for sharing, keep up the good work.
I shared this on my blog with a linkback for the recipe: http://for-the-love-of-pie.blogspot.com/2011/11/black-bottom-maple-pumpkin-pie.html
@pril
Gorgeous pie – beautiful story. I totally think the pie is just as important as the turkey!
I want to try this pumpkin pie..Thanks for sharing awesome photo..
Yes! This looks fantastic. I have similar memories of my grandmother at Thanksgiving. I have the recipe for her pumpkin pie and I think I’ll try adding chocolate to it.
chocolate and maple syrup?!? so unique!
What a wonderful way to make a pumpkin pie something utterly special!
This is a great recipe! i made it last night and it was very yummy.