Pumpkin Pie

Description
Pumpkin Pie from the Wikibooks cookbook, licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.

Pumpkin pie is a traditional American holiday dessert. It consists of a pumpkin-based custard baked in a single pie shell. This pie is traditionally served with whipped cream.
 * Cook Time: 1 hour + cooling
 * Serves: 8

Ingredients

 * 2 cups (480ml) milk, scalded
 * 2 cups (450g) pumpkin, cooked and strained (or plain canned pumpkin)
 * 1 cup (240ml) maple syrup
 * ⅛ cup (30g) sugar
 * 1 Tbsp. flour
 * ½ tsp. salt
 * 1 tsp. ginger
 * 1 tsp. cinnamon
 * ¼ tsp. nutmeg (optional)
 * 2 large eggs, beaten
 * 1 unbaked nine-inch pie shell

Directions

 * 1) Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).
 * 2) Blend all ingredients (except the pie shell) together.
 * 3) Pour into the unbaked pie shell.
 * 4) Bake at 180°C (350°F) for 45 minutes.
 * 5) Let cool and serve.

Notes, Tips and Variations

 * This recipe replaces much of the sugar normally found in a pumpkin pie recipe with maple syrup. Use only real 100 percent maple syrup, not maple-flavored pancake syrup, as their sugar content is different. You can also use brown sugar instead of maple syrup. Note substitutions, below.
 * Prepare the raw pumpkin by skinning and cutting into 1" cubes. Bake at 350 °F (180 °C) for an hour and then turn off the heat. Leave the pumpkin in the oven for another hour or two, this will reduce the moisture content. The pumpkin may also be steamed but may end up with too much moisture, resulting in a runny pie. A 10" (25 cm)-diameter pumpkin will make 4 to 6 pies. The pumpkin may also be baked whole and skinned afterwards.
 * Pumpkin pie has no top crust, making most forms of decoration impossible. For a more aesthetically-pleasing pie, put dollops of real whipped cream on each slice, or add a decorative rim to the side crust with artfully layered dough cut-outs, in the shape of fall leaves, squash or pumpkins.
 * Variation: Chocolate-covered pumpkin pie
 * After the pie has cooled, melt 2 oz. (55g) of sweetened chocolate (milk or dark) and pour over the top of the pie. Be sure to completely cover the pumpkin. Refrigerate to set the chocolate.

Substitutions

 * 14 oz. (1 can) sweetened condensed milk can replace the scalded milk and maple syrup.
 * 2 cups of plain canned pumpkin can replace the cooked and strained pumpkin.
 * Do not use "pumpkin pie filling", which has added spices.