Cinderella Pumpkin Pie

Could your family’s traditional Thanksgiving recipes use an upgrade? We thought so.


There are many great things to say about being home for the holidays, but even during the most domestic of times, our minds turn towards hotels.

More than a few know how to create a Turkey Day spread that has all the charms of home, but with a bit more experience in the kitchen (sorry, Mom). At Blackberry Farm, chef John Feathers deep-fries his bird after brining it for 48 hours, and up at the White Barn Inn in Maine, the gourmet menu features a turkey foie gras roulade with glazed cranberries and black truffle sauce.

But the Thanksgiving recipe that really caught our collective eye, not to mention seemed feasible to recreate, is from Sonoma Valley’s Hotel Healdsburg: a Cinderella Pumpkin Pie, named for a type of heirloom pumpkin that looks much like Cinderella’s getaway vehicle, pre-transformation. With salted caramel, candied pepitas and cinnamon gelato, can you imagine a more decadent grand finale?

Dry Creek Kitchen’s chef Annemarie Catrambone kindly shares with us her creation:

Cinderella Pumpkin Pie with Salted Carmel, Candied Pepitas and Cinnamon Gelato
Crust
6 oz gingersnap cookies
1 tbsp dark brown sugar, packed
1 tsp ground ginger
1 oz melted butter

Filling
2 cups cinderella pumpkin puree
1 cup half and half
½ tsp ground nutmeg
½ tsp kosher salt
¾ cup dark brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk

For the puree, heat oven to 400 degrees. Cut pumpkin into quarters and scoop out all seeds and fiber. Place on cookie sheet and bake until you can easily stick a knife through the flesh, about one hour. Let cool for an hour, then scoop out the flesh and process until smooth.

For crust, heat oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor combine gingersnap cookies, brown sugar and ground ginger. Process to fine crumbs and then drizzle in butter, pulsing until combined. Press crust mixture into bottom then up the sides of a 9″ pie dish. Place on cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Let the crust cool for about 10 minutes before filling.

For filling, bring the pumpkin puree up to a simmer, and cook until it starts to thicken. Add in half and half, nutmeg and salt, and return mixture to a simmer. Remove mixture from heat and let cool for 10 minutes. In a large bowl whisk together brown sugar, eggs and yolk. Add the pumpkin mixture, whisk thoroughly and pour filling into crust. Bake for 45-50 minutes, until center jiggles and outside is set. Cool on cooling rack for at least 2-3 hours before slicing.

Salted Caramel
2 cups sugar
1 2/3 cup cream
2 tbsp butter
1/4 teaspoon fleur de sel

Candied Pepitas
1 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp fleur de sel

For the salted caramel sauce, cook sugar over medium heat in sauce pan. Let the sugar heat up, and only begin to stir (with a wooden spoon) when the sugar near the edge starts to melt. Stir until it melts and turns amber. Cook to a dark brown, then remove from heat and quickly pour in in one cup of cream. It will bubble and spit, and once it calms down, add another 2/3 cup cream. Continue to stir over low heat. Add butter and good fleur de sel like Maldon.

Finally, toast pepitas by placing them in a skillet cooking on medium heat for about three minutes. Add butter, sugar, cinnamon and salt and cook for two to three more minutes.

Serve your pie drizzled with carmel sauce. Top with a scoop of cinnamon gelato and candied pepitas. Enjoy!

Photo credits: Chiot’s Run, Finding New Flavors, Anna’s Table, Big World Small Kitchen and Not Rachel Ray