I don’t bother making my own purée from fresh pumpkin since I’ve never found it worth the effort. Canned pumpkin like Libby’s is lower in moisture and produces a perfectly smooth, flavorful pie. I also like this combination of warm spices, but if you’re missing one, can’t find them all at the store, or just don’t like certain spices, feel free to come up with your own pumpkin pie spice blend.—Claire Saffitz
Why Our Testers Loved This
Our testers loved that this easy pumpkin pie elevated the classic with simple changes, including brown butter and honey caramel. They loved the “luxurious, creamy texture”, and not-too-sweet flavor.
What You’ll Need to Make This
- Pie crust–We recommend using an all-butter pie crust here, but you can substitute your favorite flaky pie crust recipe or purchase a good quality pie shell from the store.
- Honey–Use good-quality dark-colored honey here. It will add noticeable flavor to your pumpkin pie filling.
- Pumpkin puree–Canned pumpkin puree works great here, or you can make your own. Don’t use pumpkin pie filling.
- Spices–Feel free to make your own pumpkin pie spice blend, or purchase one from the store. You’ll need a scant 5 teaspoons.
How to Make This Recipe
- Heat the oven. Preheat the oven to 325°F and place your pie crust on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet.
- Make the caramelized honey. Melt the butter and cook until it browns, stir in the honey, and cook until it smells nutty. Remove from the heat and stir in the heavy cream.
- Make the pumpkin pie filling. Vigorously whisk the eggs and sugar, then mix in the pumpkin, salt, and spices until very smooth. Whisk in the honey caramel, then pour the filling into the prepared pie shell.
- Bake the pumpkin pie. Cook until the edges of the pie are puffed and the center has a very slight wobble.
- Cool the pie. Turn off the oven, crack open the oven door, and let the pie cool completely before serving.
FAQs
For this recipe, you’ll want to use good-quality, dark-hued honey. The more strongly flavored the better, so it stands out against the pumpkin. Just don’t use buckwheat or chestnut honey, which are too intense. You want to taste it but not be overwhelmed by it.
You may have a little filling left over. Bake it separately in a small ramekin. This prevents ingredient waste and allows you to sample the filling before cutting into the pie.
Definitely. To make homemade pumpkin puree, simply roast cubes or halves of fresh pumpkin until tender, dump into the food processor, and blitz until smooth.
Helpful Tips
- The pie crust can be made ahead and frozen unbaked for up to 3 months, or parbaked for up to 1 month.
- Leftover pie can be stored, covered, in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Use a wooden spoon to prop open your oven door while your pie is cooling.
More Great Pumpkin Pie Recipes
Write a Review
If you make this recipe, or any dish on LC, consider leaving a review, a star rating, and your best photo in the comments below. I love hearing from you.–David
Caramelized Honey Pumpkin Pie
Ingredients
- 1 recipe All-Butter Pie Crust, parbaked in a 9-inch (23-cm) pie plate and cooled
- 5 tablespoons (2 1/2 oz) unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup (4 oz) good quality dark-hued honey
- 3/4 cup (6 oz) heavy cream, at room temperature
- 4 large (7 oz) eggs, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup (1.8 oz) packed dark brown sugar
- One (15-ounce) can unsweetened pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling), preferably Libby’s
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg, preferably freshly grated, plus more for serving
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves (optional)
- Softly whipped cream, for serving
Instructions
- Arrange an oven rack in the center position and preheat the oven to 325°F (163°C). Place the parbaked pie crust on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet.
- In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, cook the butter, stirring and scraping the bottom and sides constantly with a heatproof spatula. The mixture will sputter as the water boils off. Continue to cook, stirring and scraping, until the sputtering subsides, the butter is foaming, and the solid bits turn a dark brown, 3 to 7 minutes.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and immediately add the honey (to prevent the butter from burning), stir to combine.
- Return the saucepan to medium heat and bring to a boil. Continue to cook, swirling often, until the mixture is darkened slightly and has a savory, nutty smell, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and slowly stream in the heavy cream, stirring constantly (be careful—the mixture may sputter) until it’s smooth.
- In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, then add the brown sugar and whisk vigorously until the mixture has lightened in color by a shade or two, about 1 1/2 minutes.
- Whisk in the pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger, vanilla, salt, allspice, nutmeg, and cloves, if using, until smooth. Slowly stream in the warm honey mixture, whisking constantly, until the filling is completely homogenous, about 2 minutes.
- Pour the filling into the parbaked crust all the way to the top.
- Ever so carefully, slide the pie onto the center rack and bake until the filling is set and puffed around the edges and the center wobbles gently, 45 to 60 minutes.
- Turn off the oven and prop the door open with a wooden spoon. Let the pie cool completely in the oven. Doing so will allow it to cool gradually, which will prevent cracking on the surface.
- Slice the pie into wedges and top each piece with softly whipped cream. Grate a bit of fresh nutmeg over the cream and serve. The pie, covered and refrigerated, will keep up to 3 days but is best served on the first or second day (the crust will soften over time).
Notes
- Shortcuts–Use a store-bought pie shell and/or store-bought pumpkin pie spice blend.
- Get ahead–Pie crust can be made and frozen, unbaked for up to 3 months, or parbaked for up to 1 month.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
This caramelized honey pumpkin pie is perfectly spiced and has just the right amount of sweetness. I love the nutty, rich taste of browned butter, and using honey for the caramel seemed like a nice touch.
The custard is creamy and compliments a good crust. (I used the included All-Butter Pie Dough for my par-baked crust and it was buttery and flaky and so delicious!)
This caramelized honey pumpkin pie is hands down the best pumpkin pie I have ever made. I was drawn to the idea of the brown butter and then caramelizing the honey. I’ve never heard of that before, now I wonder why.
The recipe suggests using dark and flavorful honey, mine was slightly darker than medium wildflower honey. I loved the combination of spices, just the right complement to the other ingredients.
This is a pie for that friend of yours who says he doesn’t like pumpkin pie. It has a lovely, luxurious, creamy texture, deep toffee flavors of butter and honey, and spice. It makes for an excellent variation on the classic pumpkin pie for the holiday. Honestly, I prefer my pumpkin pie more “pumpkin forward” so I can taste it but this is a really good variation and my wife loved it. I guess we are having 2 versions this year next to our turkey.
This pie ticks all the boxes for pumpkin pie. It’s picture perfect. The filling is light and silky. It slices cleanly. The texture and flavour improve with age, so it’s a great make ahead dessert. It also freezes beautifully. The pie came together effortlessly. Despite all the reasons to love this pie, it wasn’t my favourite simply because I found it a bit bland compared with some of the pumpkin pies I’ve made in the past. The pumpkin is mild. The spices are well balanced but not very strong. I’ll add a bit of lemon juice to boost the pumpkin and use a heavier hand with the spices the next time. Instead of a pie, I made a tart with a shortbread crust, and added a praline topping.
Sadie, I’m glad you like the pie overall. But I am concerned about it not knocking your socks off, which is what I try to do with each recipe. May I ask, what kind of salted you use? Was it diamond kosher?
I don’t think it was a lack of salt. It was simply that the pumpkin flavour was a bit weak so the pie fell just short of a “wow” for me. I’ll cook the pumpkin with the brown sugar and spices the next time to enhance the flavour, and add a few grinds of black pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice.
Sadie, cool. And your additions sound great. I’m going to remake it before Thanksgiving using your tweaks.
I made this tart again with a few subtle changes and it was voted outstanding, a 10/10. I used ginger honey, added black pepper, lemon juice and a teaspoon of homemade pumpkin pie spice. The spices didn’t overwhelm. The texture of this is what sets it apart from other pumpkin pies. It’s incredibly smooth. The salted praline topping adds interest.
Sadie, I’m thrilled that you enjoyed this so. It’s such a winner and will be doing double duty at our home this autumn.
This looks amazing! As per usual, as expected from this lovely site.
Question – would you recommend Buckwheat honey here?
J’enay, buckwheat honey will likely be too intense for this pie. You want the honey flavor to come through in the filling but not overpower it.
We made this for Thanksgiving and it was delicious. The flavor is deeper and richer than a typical pumpkin pie and will now be on our holiday rotation.
So wonderful to hear you enjoyed this pie, Kai. Here’s to many more slices of it! Thank you for writing!