INGREDIENTS

  • 1 winter squash, peeled, seeded, and cut to 1” pieces
  • ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon maple syrup, divided
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ground ginger
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 cups cream, divided
  • 5 tablespoons milk
  • 1 ¾ cup squash purée (see note)
  • 1 pie crust (below)

Pie crust

  • ½ cup (2 ounces) white pastry flour
  • ½ cup (2 ounces) white bread flour
  • 1 ½ teaspoons sugar
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • ½ cup (4 ounces) very cold butter
  • ¼ cup ice water
  • 1 egg yolk, beaten with a splash of heavy cream

 

Serves 1-2

DIRECTIONS

  1. Place a steamer insert into a large pot, and pour in enough water to come up an inch. Add squash, lid, and turn the heat to high. Steam squash for 15-20 minutes, or until a cake tester or thin chopstick slides through easily. Let cool slightly, then purée until smooth.
  2. Preheat oven to 400F. Whisk together ½ cup syrup, salt, spices, eggs, 1 cup cream, and milk in a medium bowl until smooth. In a medium saucepan, cook 1 ¾ cups purée over medium heat, stirring constantly, until dry and slightly darkened, 10 minutes. Turn heat off, and beat in liquid mixture until well-combined. Pour into prepared pie crust, and bake for 25-30 minutes (the 1” center island of filling should still be a bit jiggly). Allow to cool and set completely before cutting into. Meanwhile, whip the remaining 1 cup cream and 1 tablespoon syrup to medium peaks. Serve alongside pie.
  3. Pie crust:
    Whisk together all the dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Set atop a scale if you have one, and, using a teaspoon measure, scoop 4 ounces of butter into the bowl. Working quickly, squidge each butter piece into a flat shard and coat with flour, Pour in water and stir until the dough begins to come together in a rough ball. Cut into 4 wedges, then stack the wedges neatly, rounding once again into a ball. Plop out onto a counter, and roll to ⅛” thickness, a circle about 14” in diameter, flouring the dough and the surface sparingly as you go. Roll the dough lightly onto your rolling pin, then drape over a 9” pie pan. Trim any overhang longer than 1”, then fold edges under and crimp as desired. Brush crimped edges lightly with egg wash. Wrap tightly, and let chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours or up to overnight.