Perfect Pumpkin Pie

Of the 3 classic thanksgiving pies, I find pumpkin to be by far the easiest to make.  Every single time I've made this it has come out great-perfect.  As thanksgiving approaches, I always practice making pecan and apple pies, but I never practice the pumpkin pie because I am always confident it will turn out great and so far it has never failed me.  The texture is cloud like, airy, smooth, and creamy.  It is far and away better than store bought pumpkin pie.  Give it a try, it's almost fool proof.

there are only 2 real pitfalls when making a pumpkin pie:
1. baking on too high of a temperature and/or too high of a position in the oven which can cause cracking of the top crust and/or over baking and curdling.  Some cracking is fine, as that is purely cosmetic.
2.  Judging the doneness of the pie and knowing when to take it out as to avoid curdled pies or slightly runny centers.  Temperature is not an accurate indicator of doneness, but the jiggle test is!


ingredients:
taken from the cooks illustrated recipe with a much needed adjustment in the amount of sugar
1.  1 cup heavy cream
2.  1 cup whole milk
3.  3 EXTRA LARGE eggs plus 2 EXTRA LARGE yolks
note: - if you only use large eggs, the filling can end up slightly loose and wet.  So, if using large eggs, make sure to crack a 4th egg and add in a few drops of it.
4.  1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5.  1 15 oz can pumpkin puree
6.  1 cup drained candied yams from 15-ounce can (regular yams may be used as well if that's all you can find)
(there are 10 oz of yams within a 15 oz can, so use this number if you can only find large cans of yams)
7.  1/4 cup + 3 TBL sugar (measure exactly and use straight edge to level off)
8.  1/4 cup maple syrup (grade a dark amber syrup, 50g sugar per 1/4 cup)
9.  2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
10.  1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
11.  1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
11.  1 teaspoon table salt
12.  Pie crust for 1/2 a pie (recipe and baking instructions can be found in apple pie recipe)

recipe:
1.  Whisk cream, milk, eggs, yolks, and vanilla together in medium bowl.
2.  Combine pumpkin puree, yams, sugar, maple syrup, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in large heavy-bottomed saucepan.  bring to sputtering simmer over medium heat, 5 to 7 minutes. Continue to simmer pumpkin mixture, stirring constantly and mashing yams against sides of pot, until thick and shiny, 5 to 7 minutes.

3.  Adjust oven rack to middle position and pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.  Bake off foiled pie crust for 15 minutes according to pie dough recipe in apple pie recipe.
4.  Remove pan from heat and whisk in cream mixture until fully incorporated. Strain mixture through fine-mesh strainer set over large bowl, using back of ladle or spatula to press solids through strainer.  Also, scrape down the under/bottom the mesh strainer as a lot of the pumpkin mixture will accumulate there.
5.  After the 15 min pre-bake of the pie crust is done, adjust oven rack to LOWEST POSITION.  Do not bake higher than this as that greatly increases the cracking of the top layer.
6.  Take off foil and bake pie crust exactly 4 more minutes on lowest rack.
7.  Give the pumpkin mixture one final mix, slightly pull out oven rack and baking tray, and carefully pour in the pumpkin mixture into pie crust.
8.  Carefully push in oven rack and baking tray, close oven door, and bake on 400 for EXACTLY 10 MIN!  Any longer and you risk cracking the top crust.
9.  Lower the temperature to 300 and bake for another 15 minutes, rotate 180 degrees, and bake for another 25-45 minutes.  The reason I give such a large range is because I've never actually timed the baking time and just went by feel.  Simply check the pie after 50 minutes and bake for 5 minute intervals until done.
note: - to check doneness, simply shake the pie dish.  You want the outside 2/3 of the filling to be solid, with only the inside 1/3 to be jiggling.  It will finish setting as it cools.
10.  As soon as it's done, take out and cool at ROOM TEMPERATURE to allow the residual heat to finish cooking the filling.  Allow to cool for at least 2 hours.
11.  If completely cooled and you want to rewarm, place into a 230 degree oven for at least 30 min.
note: - you can increase the baking temperature from 300 to 310 to shorten the baking time, but this will most likely cause some cracking on the top layer which is purely cosmetic and has no effect on the taste and texture of the pie.