Pichet Ong's Squash Pie

I'll just start this post by saying that, after taking a few bites of this squash pie last night, my friend Andy put down his fork and said, "This is the best dessert I ever ate." He then picked up his fork again, and through bites said I could quote him, in fact that I must. So there you have it, readers. This pie blew Andy's mind.

It's pretty darn good, I'll say. I was going to make it for Thanksgiving, but my father took one look at the cream cheese in the ingredient list and put the kibosh on it right quick. (Who knows - he's a bit of a mystery.) So instead I saved it for the dinner party we had last night and it was a resounding - nay, stunning - success.

The recipe comes from the now-defunct The Chef column that used to run in the The New York Times. I miss that column. You too? I got so many good recipes from it, like a chicken liver sauce from Judy Rodgers and a Breton butter cake from Gabrielle Hamilton. (I'm still waiting for Gabrielle's memoir with recipes to be published, by the way. This year, I think!)

Pichet Ong, he of P*ONG and The Sweet Spot, delivered the recipe for the squash pie. It's thick with cream cheese, flavored strongly with cinnamon and nutmeg, and nestled in a completely addictive crust that you should commit to memory for any number of other things, like cheesecake or banana cream pie or key lime pie (though I still think this Grape-Nuts crust version via Gemma takes the cake (groan) for that).

The pie is silky and creamy and really, really easy to make. A crumb crust is a joy to make, an uncomplicated antidote to all those hand-rolled pie crusts of the holiday season. Plus, it means you'll end up with a few extra graham crackers knocking around in your cupboards, which is a very good thing indeed.

Also, though the recipe calls for a Kabocha squash to be steamed and peeled and pureed, canned pumpkin works beautifully here. Yes, Kabocha would have been lovely, all sweet and dry and tasty, but Pichet himself says that butternut squash and cheese or sugar pumpkins (which is what are usually found in those cans - remember to only buy the "pure pumpkin" ones, not the cans that are labeled "filling"!) are a good substitute, so cut those corners, come on.

Lastly, with no brandy in the house (I know! A crying shame. But you might not have any either, so let's be brandy-less together.), I substituted a splash of pure vanilla extract. It perfumed the pie ever so subtly.

Whatever you do! Make sure you serve this with creme fraiche. (You like how I did that, told you how to make your own, and then told you how to use it all up? You're welcome! A pleasure, really.) The cold, slightly sour cream cuts the sweet richness of the squash pie just perfectly and rounds out the flavors a bit. I'd say, honestly, that the pie just isn't right without it.

So serve up the pie, let your guests do the dolloping, then sit back, put your feet up, and let the compliments just wash over you. After all, wouldn't you, too, like to be responsible for the best dessert someone ever ate?

Squash Pie
Serves 8

For the filling:
1 medium kabocha squash, about 3 pounds, or 2 1/2 cups of canned pumpkin (skipping the steps below for roasting and pureeing the squash)
10 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
3/8 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg (about 1/4 of a nutmeg)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons brandy or 2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract
2 eggs at room temperature

For the crust:
3/8 cup (2 ounces) walnuts
1/2 cup packed, light brown sugar
3/8 cup graham cracker crumbs (about 7 crackers)
Grated zest of 1 lime
3/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
3/8 teaspoon salt (I'd use less salt next time, just 1/8 of a teaspoon)
1/4 cup (2 ounces) unsalted butter, melted
Crème fraîche, for serving (optional)

1. For pie filling, bring an inch of water to a boil in a large covered pot fitted with a steamer basket or rack. Put in squash, cover and steam, replenishing water as needed, until fork tender, about 1 hour. Turn squash over halfway through steaming. Set squash aside until cool enough to handle.

2. Heat oven to 325 degrees. For crust, place walnuts on a baking tray, and toast in oven, stirring once or twice, until fragrant, about 15 minutes. Let cool. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees.

3. In a food processor, combine walnuts with a few tablespoons brown sugar and pulse a few times, until nuts are coarsely ground. In a large bowl, whisk nuts with graham cracker crumbs, remaining brown sugar, lime zest, spices and salt. Pour melted butter over this mixture, and mix with your fingers until butter is distributed. Press evenly into a 10-inch glass pie plate. Bake crust until lightly browned, about 12 minutes, then set aside. Keep oven at 300 degrees.

4. When squash is cool, cut it in half and scoop out seeds and pulp. Scoop squash flesh into a measuring cup until you have 2 1/2 cups.

5. In a food processor, process cream cheese with sugar, spices and salt until light and smooth. Scrape down bowl, add squash and process until smooth. Mix in brandy and then eggs, one at a time. Finish mixing with a rubber spatula.

6. Place pie plate on a baking sheet and scrape filling into crust. Bake until just set in center, about 1 hour. Let cool, then serve topped with crème fraîche.

Comments

[FreshAdriaticFish]

this sound very, very interesting and delicious. Simply must try!

[jenny]

oh my goodness, I want to make this right now. yum. YUM. and yay for streamlining with canned pumpkin. at times, there's definitely something to be said for the whole squash-roasting thing, but at others ... well, bring on the shortcuts, I say. and amen to those.

also, luisa, I made the smothered cabbage soup earlier this week (after salivating over that entry for several days) and it was delish as promised. the friends who conned me into giving them some thought so, too.

[Ian]

Man, I've been making this recipe since it was printed back in 2004 (I think), and it really is wonderful. Luisa, you should try making the ginger butterscotch sauce recipe that was printed along with the pie (http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/17/dining/172CREX.html?8bl). It says to strain out the ginger coins, but I just leave them in and eat them. Then again, I am a ginger fiend.

[deb]

This looks so delicious. I love it when people don't only make pie for Thanksgiving and July 4th. However, as I suppose is a wee bit predictable of me, I read "Breton Butter Cake," found the recipe and ohmygodLuisa, what have you done? Do you know how many laps I am going to have to swim to pull that cake off? I freaking can't wait.

[Mercedes]

We made this at Thanksgiving, though baked in a pan like cheesecake, and loved it!! I really believe homemade squash puree is better than canned, but I agree canned is good in a pinch. The pie also freezes well, in case you made 3 different pies for the holiday and find yourself overburdened with leftovers. In fact, it's quite good sort of half-frozen half-thawed, if you are very impatient.

[KatyBelle]

Could you use any firm squash, like acorn or butternut? Kabocha is one variety of squash I've never seen in my area.

[KatyBelle]

Oops! I just re-read the post and you answered my question there!

[Lydia]

I always have a can of squash in my pantry. I know, I know, it's not the same. But for spur-of-the-moment baking, it's so handy, and you can bump up the flavor with spices (and more brandy!). This pie looks delicious.

[Luisa]

Jenny - so glad you liked that soup!

Ian - I have that recipe clipped, too, but it just seemed like too much work by the time Saturday evening rolled around. It does sound totally amazing, though - also drizzled on vanilla ice cream, yes?

Deb - that cracks me up. Get to it, lady!

Mercedes - nice, good to know! I know something about three pies at Thanksgiving, though we never seem to have any leftovers, darnit.

[Dana]

This sounds really, really good. And given how much I loooove kabocha squash, I'm sure it would be a favorite in my house, too.

[radish]

This looks incredible - and I'm afraid I won't be able to make this for awhile... This is what happens when your better half is lactose intolerant. :( How sad is that? I just love love love anything squash...

[shauna]

Oh my dear, I might just faint. That sounds so scrumptious -- although right now I admit that I just love the idea of creme fraiche, so having another reason to eat it? yes.

Gluten-free crusts would work just fine with this one. Maybe some ginger snaps instead of the graham cracker?

As always, you have set my mind racing.

[Mary Coleman]

Best intentions of no dessert this week have flown out the window again. Can't wait to try this AND making my own creme fraiche. Thanks, Luisa.

[Julie O'Hara]

Yes, I miss "The Chef" column too! I've been admiring the Pichet Ong recipes I've seen around lately, but they're usually a bit complicated...this is perfect. Love the crust recipe.
Julie

[Molly]

I love the sound of that crust! Walnuts, graham crackers, lime, ginger - so many good things, all in one place. And your photographs! Good lord, girl, you + that camera = magic.

[Luisa]

Shauna - I think gingersnaps would work just fine. Is it easier to find GF gingersnaps?

Molly - thank you, sweets! I'm having such a good time with it.

[jenny]

ok, so I made the pie. and it was RIDICULOUSLY delicious (and ridiculously easy). but, hmmmm. luisa, my pie didn't set up as well as yours did. any thoughts on a possible culprit? it wasn't totally runny, just a little less solid toward the middle. just enough to be disappointing, you know? (and just enough to yield slices that weren't exactly photo-worthy.) funny thing is, the pie did seem set after an hour of baking. but now I wonder if I should have left it in a little longer ...

[Luisa]

Jenny - Hmm, well, the pie isn't meant to set up as firmly as a traditional pumpkin pie, since it's more of a cheesecake. You know? But I did also chill my pie for a while before serving it - I wonder if that maybe helps a bit with the consistency?

[jenny]

yeah, at first I thought chilling (or lack thereof--the pie was definitely cool when I cut it, but not cold) was the culprit, but even today it's just not quite as cheesecake-y as yours appears to be. my second hypothesis was that the light cream cheese was the culprit. I've successfully made the substitution in similar recipes before but, who knows? maybe something about this particular combo of ingredients makes going light a no-no. guess I'll just have to make another pie ... :)

thanks for your thoughts.

[Sorina]

I like this blog is fantastic, is really good written. Congratulation. Great photos…this looks delicious ! :-)

[Julie]

I'm SO glad there seem to be others out there who haven't quite gotten over the holiday baking jones. I did an obscene amount of baking, and still, there were so many things I didn't get to.

Like there was this pumpkin cheesecake I was going to make, and I still have the canned organic pumpkin AND the organic gingersnaps (thanks, Trader Joe's) in the pantry. So howsabout I make this instead...? We could have it for dessert, after we eat some sort of penitent January meal of steamed broccoli and naked chicken breast and brown rice...

[EB]

Julie-
I'm with you! I've still got the gingerbread jones and canned pumpkin in the pantry. And yes Luisa... I am brandy-less too.

Sounds yummy-
EB

[Shannon]

Hi Luisa,

In the last few months, you may remember receiving an email invitation to become a part of the Foodbuzz Featured Publisher Program. With all the recipe-writing and food photography to be completed, we know emails can easily get lost in the shuffle, so Foodbuzz would like to re-extend our offer of inviting you to be a part of our food blogger network. I would love to send you more details about the program, so if you are interested, please email me at Shannon@foodbuzz.com.

And I've never heard of squash pie, but if pumpkin and sweet potato pies work (and happen to be my favorite), this can't be that far off. Thanks for sharing!

Your pics are lovely, too. =)

Cheers!

Shannon Eliot
Editorial Assistant, Foodbuzz.com
shannon@foodbuzz.com

[Victoria]

The pie, of course, looks delicious. But so do your forks. Pray tell - what are they?

[Molly]

I made this pie yesterday and I have a few comments. First of all it does taste better today having chilled in the fridge. I didn't get much flavor from the lime zest. I wonder if it is needed at all. I wish the crust had a little more zing to it. Gingersnaps would have been nice. I did use canned pumpkin which was fine. All in all, it tasted pretty good and looked just like the picture! I don't know if I would make it again, but I love your site and have had luck in the past. Thanks so much!

[Luisa]

Julie - mmm, love those penitent January meals... More room, then, for a sneaky dessert. ;)

Victoria - thank you! They're part of an antique silver service that I grew up using and that my mother kindly gave me a few years ago.

Molly - Thank you - I'm so glad you do! It's funny how tastes vary, isn't it? I found the crust almost too strong in flavor from all the spices and the zest!

[meggan]

I made this last night, and the steaming and peeling of the kabocha was *much* more time intensive than I expected. I have never steamed one whole like that before. The peel was so brittle and tender that it was tough to get the flesh away from it, as well as scoop the seeds. In the future, I would def. recommend scraping out the squash first. But it was worth it in the end, and the crust is heavenly. Our kids are still trying to steal the bits off the side when they think I'm not looking. I loved the lime.