I have made this pie twice in one week. I had extra pumpkin, yes, but it really is fantastic. It's veering into the 'much too much' category for me-ultra rich, ultra sweet- but my roommate is in love. Maybe you will be too.
The recipe comes from Bon Appetit's Thanksgiving issue from 2009, and I've made no modifications. You can find the recipe here.
It looks much more elaborate than the Sour Cream Pumpkin Pie, but is actually much less involved (no cooking of the filling pre-baking).
Start by making the streusel-y topping (chopped walnuts-though you could definitely swap these for other nuts-pecans, hazelnuts, even almonds would be nice, brown sugar, cinnamon and a touch of salt):
Roll out your pastry and fit into the pie shell, decorating the edges if you like. Compare this shell (made while watching Waitress and drinking beer) with second version, where I was all neat and fancy with triangle cut outs. Remember the risks of distracted baking.
The shell is then blind baked with pie weights/pennies/beans to hold its shape.
You can easily prepare the filling by hand or by mixer, simply by combining the brown sugar, spices, eggs, pumpkin purée and heavy cream.
Fill your shell and bake until filling is jiggly but the top has set. Cover with brown sugar/nut mixture and continue to bake until the filling is puffed and topping has browned.
It can be served at room temperature or cold, and goes best with cinnamon whipped cream.
