This super sexy fall pie is half pumpkin pie and half chocolate ganache tart. Graham cracker crust, spicy pumpkin filling, and rich chocolate ganache, all topped with real chocolate leaves. This pumpkin pie with chocolate ganache is “the one.”
Fall? Yes please!
You can bet that as soon as the nighttime temperature dips below 60° F, the oven in my house is ON. I will spend time in the evenings pouring over cookbooks and recipes, plotting my total dessert table domination. Last year I dreamed up a pumpkin pie alternative in the form of a bourbon butterscotch pie with molasses whipped cream. I also made a show-stopper of a cranberry curd tart with a white chocolate mousse filling and bischoff crust. But this year I wanted a nod to everyone’s favorite: pumpkin pie.
Making the Leaves
To really gild the lily, I decided to top my pumpkin pie with rich chocolate ganache, put it in a tart pan, and then decorate it with chocolates made from leaves I gathered nearby. They look complicated, but really all you need is some chocolate that melts, a paintbrush, and a bit of metallic luster dust (you can skip the dust if you want that au naturale chocolate look).
Just brush the backs of the leaves (if you do the fronts, the little leaf veins will be outies instead of innies) with a thick layer of chocolate, then let the chocolate harden (a minute or two in the freezer should do it), and then carefully peel the leaf off of the chocolate. Leaves that are smooth on the back, not fuzzy, work best when you get to peeling the leaves off the back. I’ve had particularly good luck with Norway maple, gingko, and elm leaves. Experiment!
Then brush each leaf with luster dust, it’s sort of like applying eyeshadow, just gentle sweeps until it looks done. I used a green-tinted chocolate and several colors of luster dust, but this will look pretty and impressive no matter what!
Easy As Pie
The actual pie part is pretty straightforward: a standard graham cracker crust (I like a bit thicker crust and use a deep quick pan like this
My husband was very excited to try this one and kept asking if it was ready yet. But alas, this one needs to chill a bit before you cut it so you can get nice, tidy slices. This is very rich and sweet, I think you could get 16 servings out of this puppy. Happy Baking!
More Fall Magic from Bakers Brigade:
- Bourbon Butterscotch Pie with Molasses Whipped Cream
- Cranberry Curd Tart with White Chocolate Mousse and Biscoff Cookie Crust
- Pumpkin Cake with Molasses Cream Cheese Frosting
- Blackberry Bramble Bars
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slices
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- 15 graham crackers
- 1 stick butter melted
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 15 oz. can pumpkin puree
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 9 ounces bittersweet chocolate chopped
- 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 3 tablespoons butter
Ingredients
For the Crust:
For the Pumpkin Filling:
For Chocolate Ganache:
For Chocolate Leaves:
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- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Crush the graham crackers in a ziplock bag with a rolling pin or pulse in the bowl of your food processor until fine. Add melted butter and sugar and then stir until it forms a mixture like wet sand.
- Press into the pan, being sure to press firmly. Bake for 10 minutes and then cool completely. After it cools, wrap the bottom of the pan in aluminum foil to prevent any oil that might leak while the filling cooks from dripping onto the bottom of the oven.
- Heat the pumpkin, sugar, spices and salt in a medium pan over medium heat. Once it begins to sputter, cook for another 5-7 minutes until some of the moisture has cooked off, stirring frequently.
- Let pumpkin mixture cool a bit until it is warm, not hot then add sweetened condensed milk. Then add eggs one at a time. Stir in vanilla. Pour the filling into the crust and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
- Lower the oven temperature to 325 and cook for an additional 20-25 minutes, until the center puffs up (don't worry, it will settle as it cools). Watch the crust and cover with foil or a pie shield if it is browning too quickly.
- Let cool completely, then finish with ganache.
- Heat milk and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until the milk begins to steam and bubble at the edges.
- Place the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Pour the hot cream mixture over the chocolate, cover the bowl, and let it sit for 5 minutes.
- Stir until smooth. If bits of chocolate remain, microwave at half power in 15 second increments, stirring each time, until the mixture is smooth and glossy. Pour over pumpkin layer and allow to cool and set.
- Follow the directions in the post above and scatter the leaves around the top. Refrigerate until ready to serve and then take out for 30 minutes to take the chill off before slicing. Enjoy, you've earned it!
Just wondering what the spice measurement would be if I were to use pumpkin pie spice instead of the individual spices?
I would use 1 1/2 teaspoons of pie spice to replace the other spices. Let me know how it turns out!
Thanks, Jane! I went ahead and bought the individual spices. I can’t wait to make this for Thanksgiving!!!