A probiotic spin on a classic autumn/winter dessert recipe, from-scratch pumpkin pie with a graham cracker crust and pumpkin custard made with kefir.
Serve with kefir ice cream, or lavender-infused whipped cream
Kefir Pumpkin Pie
Prep time
Fermentation time
Total time
Ingredients
Crust
- 7 oz. (200g) graham crackers
- 1.25 oz (35g) grass-fed butter
- ½ oz. (15g) fresh ginger root
- 1 Tbsp. (10g) dark brown sugar
Filling
- 16 oz. (450g) pumpkin puree
- ½ cup (115g) milk kefir
- ¾ cup (120g) dark brown sugar
- ½ cup (115g) heavy cream
- ¼ tsp. (1.25ml) sea salt
- ½ tsp. (2.5ml) fresh nutmeg
- 3 large chicken eggs (2 whole plus one yolk)
- [Optional] ¼ cup pomegranate arils (seeds)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F/180C.
- Melt butter.
- Grate ginger. Add to bowl of a food processor.
- Add graham crackers and 1 Tbsp (10g) brown sugar to bowl and pulse a few times to crush.
- Drizzle melted butter into food processor while continuing to chop. Finished consistency should resemble wet, fluffy sand.
- Pour crumb mixture into a 9-inch round pie pan. Use a mug or other heavy flat bottomed tool to press the crumb into the pan, forming a crust along the bottom and up the sides of the pan.
- Blind bake the crust for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool 10 minutes.
- Heat the pumpkin puree on medium-high heat until it starts to boil, about 5 minutes.
- Add the kefir, cream, salt, and fresh-grated nutmeg to pumpkin. Simmer another 10 minutes. Let mixture cool 10 minutes.
- Remove yolk from one of the eggs, discarding the white or using for another purpose.
- Add yolk and other eggs, and brown sugar to a bowl and mix until smooth.
- Add the sugar/egg mixture to the puree and mix well together.
- Pull out middle oven rack halfway, and place crust on rack. Ppour the custard mixture into the pan, and carefully slide the rack back into oven.
- Bake 40 minutes, or until the sides of the pie are firm but the middle is still jiggly.
- If using pomegranate, after 25 minutes of baking, sprinkle pomegranate seeds over the top of the pie.
- Remove pie from oven and let cool at least 2 hours.
Much obliged to Alton Brown for his pie wisdom.