About This Recipe
Honey sweetens the pumpkin filling in this pie, with cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg alongside it. The homemade crust is blind-baked before the custard goes in. Allow time for the pie to cool in the refrigerator; cutting it straight from the oven will give you a loose slice.
Recipe
Honey Pumpkin Pie with a Homemade Butter Crust
Bake pumpkin custard sweetened with honey in a homemade butter crust. Includes blind-baking, a center-temperature check and refrigerator cooling time.
12Ingredients
Yield: 8 servings
- 160 g all-purpose flour
- 85 g unsalted butter, cold
- 45 g water, cold
- 2 g table salt, divided
- 425 g canned pumpkin puree without salt
- 1/2 cup honey
- 150 g whole eggs without shells
- 200 g heavy cream
- 15 g cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Ingredient amounts scale; instructions show the original batch. Cooking times and pan sizes may need adjustment. Season to taste. Honey grams use US measures at 20°C and 17.5% moisture, a density estimate; weigh your honey for precision.
Instructions
- 1Make and chill the pastryMix the flour and 1 g salt. Cut the cold butter into cubes, then work it into the flour until there are small pea-sized pieces. Add the cold water and gather into a dough without kneading it smooth. Flatten into a disk, wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- 2Line the pie plateRoll the dough between sheets of baking paper into a circle that fits a 23 cm (9 inch) pie plate. Fit it into the plate without stretching, fold under the edge and crimp. Refrigerate the lined plate for 15 minutes while heating the oven to 375 F (190 C).
- 3Blind-bake the crustLine the pastry with baking paper and fill with reusable pie weights. Bake for 20 minutes. Carefully remove the weights and paper, then bake another 10 minutes until the base looks dry and lightly golden. Reduce the oven to 325 F (165 C).
- 4Mix the pumpkin custardWhisk the pumpkin puree, honey, cornstarch, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and remaining 1 g salt until smooth. Whisk in the eggs, then the cream. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl so no unmixed honey or starch remains.
- 5Bake the filled piePlace the warm crust on a baking sheet and pour in the filling. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, until the outer filling is set and the center moves in a small, unified wobble rather than liquid ripples. A thermometer in the center should read at least 160 F (71 C). Shield the pastry edge if it browns before the filling is ready.
- 6Cool and refrigerateCool on a rack for 1 hour, then refrigerate for at least 2 hours before cutting into eight slices. Refrigerate sooner if the room is above 90 F (32 C). Do not leave this custard pie unrefrigerated for more than 2 hours. The total recipe time includes 45 minutes of pastry chilling and the 3-hour rack-and-refrigerator cooling period.
Estimated nutrition per serving
351.95 calories · 19.8 g fat · 39.96 g carbohydrate · 5.9 g protein · 135.92 mg sodium
Serving: 1 of 8 servings
Calculated from ingredient weights and USDA FoodData Central: 168894, 173430, 173647, 173468, 168450, 169640, 171287, 170859, 169698, 171320, 170926, 171326. Estimates use ingredient input weights; actual portions, brands and cooking losses vary. Omitted nutrient values are unavailable, not zero.
Use Plain Pumpkin Puree
Choose canned pumpkin without added salt or pie seasoning for the formula below. A can of sweetened pumpkin pie filling already contains ingredients that would change the honey and spice balance. Read the label before weighing it.
The 425 g pumpkin quantity is a weighed amount, not a promise that every can holds the same net weight. Scrape the can well, then check the amount on a scale. Any leftover puree belongs in a separate use, such as honey pumpkin bread.
Flavor intensity uses an editorial culinary scale: 1 is mild and 5 is bold. These are tasting suggestions, not laboratory measurements.
Sources: UC Agriculture and Natural Resources: Honey flavor and cooking; USDA FoodData Central: ingredient composition; FoodSafety.gov: egg-dish cooking temperatures; FoodSafety.gov: refrigerating perishable foods.
1 = mild, 5 = bold. Editorial pairing guidance, not laboratory measurements; jars vary.
- Clover
- Pumpkin and cream
- Wildflower
- Cinnamon and ginger
- Buckwheat
- A stronger spiced custard
Get the Honey Buyer's Cheat Sheet (free PDF)
16 varieties on one page — color, flavor, best use and what a fair price looks like — from the 304 honeys we track.
Taste the Honey before Measuring
Clover honey makes a mild filling. Wildflower adds a more noticeable floral note beside the warm spices. A dark honey gives a stronger pie, so choose it because you enjoy the taste rather than because it happens to be the open jar.
This is a formula written for liquid honey. It is not a spoon-for-spoon conversion of a dry-sugar pumpkin pie. Keep the stated pumpkin, eggs and cream quantities together when making the first batch.
Give the Crust a Head Start
Blind-baking dries the base before the wet pumpkin filling goes in. The weights hold the sides in place during the first stage. Remove them carefully, then give the bottom time to look dry before you add the custard.
Roll between baking paper so you do not need extra unmeasured bench flour. If the pastry softens while you work, chill it again. Fit it into the plate gently; stretching it is more likely to leave you with a shrunken edge.
Check the Center and Keep the Cooling Plan
Pumpkin filling can look firm at the rim while the middle still needs time. Use the small center wobble and the 160 F (71 C) temperature check together. The egg-dish temperature and refrigeration limits follow the FoodSafety.gov references linked on this page.
After 1 hour on the rack, move the pie to the refrigerator for the rest of the cooling period. Refrigerate sooner in a hot room. The long total time mostly comes from waiting for pastry and custard to chill, not from active mixing.
Portioning and Nutrition
Cut the cooled pie into eight slices, wiping the knife between cuts. Serve it on its own, or add a topping separately. Whipped cream and ice cream are not included in the ingredient list or estimate here.
The nutrition estimate includes the entire homemade crust and filling, divided by eight. It uses the listed raw ingredient weights without a cooking-loss adjustment. For a different honey dessert, try honey pecan pie or honey brownies.
Choosing the Honey
Use Clover Honey or Wildflower Honey for the flavor described in this recipe. See our honey selection guide for other culinary choices.
