Maple Pumpkin Pie with Whipped Cream ~ No Evaporated Milk

Many pumpkin pie recipes call for evaporated milk or sweetened condensed milk, but I've found that the creamiest texture is achieved by using half and half. Here's why...

Pumpkin pie is a type of custard pie. And while it may not think it has much in common with something like a coconut cream pie or banana cream pie, they are all made with milk, eggs, sugar, and flavorings baked in an uncooked or partially cooked pie crust.

Evaporated milk is simply regular milk that's been processed to remove about half of the water. It's often used in pumpkin pie in place of milk to compensate for the fact that pumpkin puree has a high water content.

But, using half-and-half instead of canned evaporated milk will give your pie the creamiest texture.

Why? Because half-and-half has a higher fat content. That little bit of extra fat gives the filling a silky smooth, super creamy texture AND helps intensify the flavor of the pie. A true win-win situation! 👏

The Most Important Ingredients for The BEST Pumpkin Pie

This recipe includes the ingredients you'd expect in a pumpkin pie, like pumpkin purée (obviously). But, there are also a few important upgrades:

1. Half and half instead of evaporated milk for the creamiest texture
2. A combination of brown sugar and maple syrup for the perfect amount of sweet with the best possible flavor
3. The perfect amount of spices - enough for a bold flavored pie without overwhelming the flavor of the pumpkin and maple syrup
4. A hint of ground black pepper

Wait... why does this recipe include black pepper?

There are two ingredients that I feel are often overlooked in desserts: salt and ground black pepper.

• Salt enhances the flavors in food, intensifying the essential qualities that make them taste like they do.
• Black pepper changes the flavor of food, adding depth and some spice.

Since salt makes all food taste better, I feel it should be used in nearly everything. Ground black pepper, however, actually changes the flavor of food and should therefore be used only in dishes for which it compliments the flavor of the other ingredients.

One of the best ways to use black pepper is in desserts that call for spices like cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. Just a pinch of ground black pepper brings out the flavor in these spices in the most incredible way. Here are a couple of examples:

• A bit of ground black pepper in these Chewy Gingersnaps intensifies their spiced maple flavor while giving them a subtle kick that's positively addicting.
• Just 1 teaspoon of ground black pepper in a batch of Strawberry Rhubarb Jam enhances the natural sweetness in the fruit while adding an oh-so-subtle kick and complexity that's going to seriously step up your jam game. 
• A touch of black pepper combined with spices, blackstrap molasses, and brewed coffee makes for the most intensely flavorful Gingerbread Cake I've ever tasted.
• In these Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Ginger Cookies, black pepper is the perfect compliment to candied ginger and chocolate chips, creating an interesting depth of flavor that's anything but boring.

The key to using black pepper is to use a small amount. In this recipe, there's only ¼ of a teaspoon, which is not enough to be able to detect it. No one will guess that it's there, but the overall flavor of the pie will be so much better than if you leave it out.

Step by Step Photos and Instructions

This is seriously one of the easiest kinds of pie you can make. You basically dump all of the ingredients into a bowl, whisk them together, pour them into a pie crust, and bake.

The first step to making pumpkin pie is to prepare the crust. My favorite go-to pie crust recipe is Foolproof Pie Crust. Follow that recipe, or use whatever recipe you like to mix up some pie crust dough and stick it in the refrigerator to chill for at least 30 minutes. Or, simply use a prepared frozen or refrigerated crust that you've purchased at your local supermarket.

Then, follow these instructions to roll out the dough, fit it into a pie plate, and partially bake the crust. Partially baking a pie crust before filling it with any kind of pie filling is called "blind baking" and I feel it's one of the secrets to baking a really good pumpkin pie.

Baking the crust for a bit before pouring in pumpkin pie batter dries it so that instead of a soggy crust, you get a crisp, flaky texture that holds its shape.

Once your crust is prepared, mixing up the pumpkin pie batter will only take a few minutes. Here's what you do...

Crack the eggs into a bowl and beat them with a wire whisk to break them up and blend them together.

Then pour in the cream, maple syrup, and vanilla and stir with the whisk until everything is combined.

Whisk in the brown sugar, flour, spices, and salt.

Add the pumpkin puree.

Whisk the batter until it's nice and smooth.

Carefully pour the pumpkin pie filling into the prepared pie shell and bake!

How to Know When Pumpkin Pie is Done Baking

When the pie is done, the center will look like Jello - jiggly but still set. If it looks soupy, keep baking. The center of the pie will have a slight sheen, while the outer circumference will be matte.

After removing it from the oven, set the pie on a wire rack and allow it to cool completely before slicing and serving with a generous dollop of pillowy whipped cream sweetened with maple syrup.

Recipe FAQs

This is The First Recipe I Ever Published ♥️

This recipe was the very first thing I ever published on this blog. It was 2013 and I had absolutely no idea what I was doing or what I wanted the blog to become. I just knew that I needed a reason to spend more time in the kitchen.

At the time I was a freelance marketing consultant, working way too many hours for way too many clients and juggling that with parenting three teenagers. I was perpetually exhausted and burned out.

I had absolutely no time for a blog, and yet... I desperately wanted to start one. To carve out the time, I started getting up at 4am so I could spend a couple of hours on the blog before my regular day began. It wasn't ideal, but sometimes you've got to do what you've got to do.

When I published this recipe, I knew precisely nothing about food photography. But, my oldest daughter, who was 15 at the time, had shown an interest in photography, so we'd gotten her a DSLR camera for Christmas. Knowing nothing about her camera, I asked her to take photos of this pumpkin pie.

We took a pumpkin pie out to the back patio and I proceeded to drive her crazy by trying to "direct" the process. We both came away from the experience knowing that I had better learn how to take my own photographs. 😂

Even still, this photo will always hold a special place in my heart. In the years since I've updated this recipe with new photos. But the recipe is the same and I cannot bring myself to delete those first photos.

I didn't know it at the time, but they were the start to a career change that would be one of the best decisions I ever made.