Before anyone asks, no this recipe does not have kimchi in it. Kimchi is the name of my friend Brenda’s maltese. He is an adorable little pupper and is generally well behaved. Except when I brought this cajeta pumpkin pie for our annual Friendsgiving, and Kimchi decided to help himself to 40% of the pie. So while this pie does not have anything to do with kimchi in terms of the tangy Korean fermented vegetables, it has everything to do with a Maltese that approved of one of the few baked pumpkin pies I’ve made. I usually don’t go for pumpkin pie because it tastes kind of rubbery and cinnamon-heavy for me. But I have come to appreciate it more over the years, after having a good one. A good pumpkin pie, in my opinion, has a silky, custard-like pumpkin filling that is well-spiced, but you can still taste the sweet, nutty pumpkin notes. I grew up eating pumpkin pies at school events that tasted like red hots. So you can imagine while I didn’t really like this dessert growing up. For the crust, I was pleasantly surprised. I made a molasses-infused pie crust, which came out with a nice, caramel-like color. I was worried when I didn’t blind bake the crust, because that’s just something I prefer to do, but despite the crust not being baked before I added the pumpkin filling, it was still crumbly and buttery, and not a wet patch in sight. While this pie might not be the size of those insane Costco pumpkin pies, I’d argue it tastes 100% better. I toasted the spices in brown butter, and combined that with cajeta, a Oaxacan goat milk caramel, just to give the filling this dulce de leche meets pumpkin spice latte situation that would make any fruit-based pie filling taste incredible. My only regret was not taking a picture of Kimchi eating the pie, because it was hilarious.

Makes 12 servings:
For the crust:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 stick unsalted butter
1/4 cup granulated sugar
a pinch of salt
1 tbsp dark brown molasses
2 tbsp cold water
1 tsp vanilla extract

In a food processor, blend the flour, butter, sugar, and salt until a fine powder forms. Add to that the other ingredients and continue pulsing until a dough comes together. Refrigerate the dough for 20 minutes. Roll the dough on a slightly floured surface to 1/8-inch thickness. Transfer the dough into a 10-inch pie tin, and crimp the edges of the dough. Keep the dough refrigerated while you work on your filling.

For the pie filling:
12oz pumpkin puree
6oz heavy cream
3oz cajeta
5oz dark brown sugar
2 eggs
a pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 tbsp unsalted butter, browned
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground mace
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground clove

In a blender, puree the pumpkin, cream, cajeta, sugar, eggs, salt, and vanilla together. In a pan, lightly toast your spices in the brown butter before adding to the blend with the other ingredients, and blending until everything is a smooth, velvety texture. Pour the filling into your pie shell. Bake the pie at 375 F for 60 minutes. Allow the pie before attempting to unmold and serve.