My friend and pie aficionado/goddess Erin McDowell just released her new book, The Book on Pie!! While I’ve always been a bit shy around pie, her book inspired me to make this mascarpone pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving.
It’s creamy, smooth and packed with Fall flavors. This recipe truly is the perfect way to spice up a classic pumpkin pie.
The Book on Pie
If you’ve struggled with pie in the past like I have, you have to get your hands on a copy of The Book on Pie.
It walks through every step of making a pie with detailed process shots, in-depth troubleshooting and infinite flavor and design combinations.
I can’t recommend it enough. It’s empowering, informative and inspiring!
Picking the Right Pie Crust for This Mascarpone Pumpkin Pie
While you can make this mascarpone pie filling with just about any pie crust, I highly recommend using Erin McDowell’s all-buttah pie crust. It’s a classic butter pie crust that’s sure to become your go-to pie crust recipe.
However, this cake would also taste great with a gingerbread cookie crust, graham cracker crust, or even a pumpkin spice pie crust.
You can also use premade pie crust if you’re short on time.
Ingredients and Substitutions – Pie Crust
Below are some swaps you can make in this all butter pie crust recipe.
- All Purpose Flour – You can use 1 1/2 cups of gluten free flour in place of the AP flour in this recipe if needed.
- Unsalted Butter – Salted butter can be used in place of unsalted butter, just be sure to omit the additional salt the recipe calls for. You can also use shortening or vegan butter sticks to make a vegan pie crust.
- Ice Cold Water – I highly recommend using ICE COLD water. If your tap doesn’t get very cold, throw some ice cubes into a bowl to get your water super cold.
Ingredients and Substitutions – Mascarpone Pumpkin Pie Filling
You can also make the following substitutions in this pumpkin pie filling recipe.
- Pumpkin Puree – I use canned pumpkin puree but you can also use fresh pumpkin puree. Just be sure to avoid any sweetened puree’s or premade pumpkin pie filling.
- Light Brown Sugar – This recipe turns out best with light brown sugar, but you can use dark brown sugar or additional granulated sugar in a pinch.
- Granulated Sugar – You can use additional light brown sugar in place of the granulated sugar if needed.
- Ground Spices – These are an absolute must. Freshly ground spices have the most flavor, but you can also use pre-ground spices.
- Vanilla Extract – Vanilla helps enhance all the other flavors in this pie. However, if you don’t have any on hand you can omit it.
- Mascarpone Cheese – This is what makes this pumpkin pie so smooth and creamy! You can use 1/2 cup of half and half in its place if needed.
Tips for Making The Best Mascarpone Pumpkin Pie
- Be sure to properly measure your flour (spoon into the cup measure, then level) or use a kitchen scale to measure your dry ingredients.
- Use cold, firm butter when making your pie crust. This allows large butter chunks to stay intact as the dough is made and creates a wonderfully flaky pie crust.
- Chill your pie dough before rolling it out. It allows the gluten to relax and makes the dough easier to handle and roll out.
- Set out the pie filling ingredients ahead of time to make them easier to mix together.
- Don’t over bake your pumpkin pie or it will crack. Bake it until the edges seem set but the center is still jiggly.
- Toast the meringue topping with a kitchen blowtorch to give you pie a beautiful finished look.
Making This Mascarpone Pumpkin Pie In Advance
This pie can be made up to 24 hours in advance and stored in the fridge. Wait to top it with meringue or whipped cream until right before serving for best results.
Let Me Know What You Think!
If you make this mascarpone pumpkin pie recipe I’d love to hear what you think of it. Please leave a rating and comment below
Tag me @chelsweets and use the #mydreampie so that Erin and we can see your amazing creations on social media.
Other Recipes You Might Like:
Mascarpone Pumpkin Pie
This mascarpone pumpkin pie is creamy, smooth and packed with Fall flavors! It's the perfect way to spice up a classic pumpkin pie.
Ingredients
All Butter Pie Crust
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (150 grams)
- 1/4 tsp fine salt (>1 gram)
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold and cut into 1/2 inch cubes (113 grams)
- 1/4 cup ice cold water, plus more as needed (60 grams)
Mascarpone Pumpkin Pie Filling
- 3 large eggs, room temperature (170 g)
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed (100 grams)
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar (100 grams)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (4 grams)
- 2 cups canned pumpkin puree (440 grams)
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon (6 grams)
- 1 tsp ground ginger (3 grams)
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves (2 grams)
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg (<1 gram)
- 1/2 tsp salt (3 grams)
- 1 cup mascarpone cheese, room temperature (226 grams)
Toasted Meringue Topping
- 2 large egg whites (66 grams)
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar (>1 gram)
- 1/2 cup of granulated sugar (100 grams)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (4 grams)
Equipment and Tools
Instructions
All Butter Pie Dough (from Erin McDowell's The Book on Pie)
- Make the pie dough first! It needs to be parbaked and cooled before baking this mascarpone pumpkin pie.
- Whisk together 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour and 1/4 tsp fine salt.
- Add 1/2 cup of cold, cubed butter into the flour and gently toss to coat the butter cubes.
- Use your pointer finger and thumb to squish the butter cubes into flakes that are about the size of a halved walnut.
- Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in 1/4 cup ice cold water. Toss the flour into the water, then gently knead the dough until it starts to come together. Add additional water 1 Tbsp at a time, until you can form a dough ball.
- Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat your oven to 425 F or 220 C.
- Lightly flour your counter and roll out the pie crust into a circular shape that is about 1 inch wider than your pie pan.
- Carefully lift the pie crust and place into a 9-inch pie pan. Trim away any overhanging pie dough that's more than 1/2 inch over the edge of the pan with a clean pair of kitchen scissors. Tuck the edge of the pie crust underneath itself along the edges to make a pretty crust.
- Crimp the crust using your knuckle and fingers, then dock the base and sides of the pie crust with a fork.
- Place a large square of parchment paper over the pie crust and fill the pie pan fully with pie weights or dry beans.
- Place the pie pan on a large baking sheet to catch any rogue butter drips and bake for 15-17 minutes or until the edges appear set and are just starting to brown.
- Remove the pie weights and bake for an additional 2-3 minutes until the bottom of the pie crust looks set. Set the crust aside to fully cool.
Mascarpone Pumpkin Pie Filling (from Erin McDowell's The Book on Pie)
- Preheat oven to 375 F or 190 C.
- Whisk together 3 large eggs, 1/2 cup light brown sugar, 1/2 granulated sugar and 1 tsp vanilla extract in a medium-sized bowl until combined.
- Add 2 cups pumpkin puree, 2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tsp ground ginger, 1/2 tsp ground cloves, 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg and 1/2 tsp salt and stir until incorporated.
- Stir in 1 cup mascarpone cheese, mixing until the batter in smooth.
- Pour into the cooled, parbaked pie crust and bake for 35-40 minutes until the filling seems set around the edges. The middle will still be a bit jiggly but that's how it's supposed to be.
- Cool completely, then place in the fridge for 2 hours to chill before topping and serving.
Toasted Meringue Topping (from Erin McDowell's The Book on Pie)
- Fill a medium-sized pot with about 2 inches of water and place over a medium heat until simmering.
- Place a medium bowl over the pot and add 2 egg whites, pinch of cream of tartar, 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 1 tsp vanilla extract.
- Whisk continuously until the mixture reaches 160 F (71 C).
- Remove from the heat and pour into the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on a medium high speed for about 2 minutes until the meringue has medium peaks.
- Scoop the meringue onto the cooled pumpkin pie and use a kitchen torch to toast the meringue.
Notes
Making This Mascarpone Pumpkin Pie in Advance
This pie can be made up to 24 hours in advance and stored in the fridge. Wait to top it with meringue or whipped cream until right before serving for best results.
Topping This Pie
If you're not a fan of meringue feel free to top this pie with decorative pie crust, homemade whipped cream or even ice cream!
Mascarpone Substitutions
If you don't have mascarpone cheese on hand, you can use 1/2 cup of half and half in its place.
Nutrition Information
Yield
8Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 615Total Fat 39gSaturated Fat 23gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 13gCholesterol 177mgSodium 512mgCarbohydrates 59gFiber 3gSugar 40gProtein 9g