Maple Cream Pie

As a nod to my home of the past year (and because this recipe looked too good to pass up), I decided to skip the more traditional pumpkin pie in favour of this maple cream pie (it's also redemption for my horrible screwup of a sugar cream pie last year).  This pie was a little overshadowed by the pecan pie, but was still absolutely delicious.

I used premade pie crusts and skipped the beginning pie crust cooking that you'll find in the original.  It seemed to turn out just fine.  I also didn't strain the mixture and the texture and taste seemed perfectly fine.

Maple Cream Pie (from Smitten Kitchen) (from NYTimes)

Ingredients

3/4 cup maple syrup
2 1/4 cups heavy cream
4 egg yolks
1 whole egg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 9-inch pie crust or tart shell.

1. Preheat oven to 300F.
2. Prepare filling: In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, reduce maple syrup by a quarter, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in cream and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks and egg. Whisking constantly, slowly add cream mixture to eggs. Stir in salt, nutmeg and vanilla.
4. Pour filling into crust and transfer to a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until pie is firm to touch but jiggles slightly when moved, about 1 hour. Let cool to room temperature before serving.