Hatepumpkinpie? This is foryou

I hate pumpkin pie. One ofmy earliest Thanksgiving food memories is of scraping the filling off a slice of pumpkin pie so I could eat just the crust and using the crust to scoop up blobs of whipped cream.

Eventually, I graduated to taking a very narrow slice of pie and smothering it with whipped cream.

Doomed to always be disappointed, I gave up on pumpkin pie.

But a few years ago, around Thanksgiving, I renewed my search for a promising recipe, coming across one for Sweet Potato Buttermilk Pie on Smitten Kitchen, a New York-based food blog written by Deb Perelman.

After tinkering , I now love pumpkin pie. But only this one.

Fluffy pumpkin buttermilk pie

You will need a 23cm deep-dish glass pie plate. Serve with whipped cream.

For the crust:

■ 6 1⁄2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

■ 2 cups crushed gingernuts

■ 1⁄4 cup icing sugar

■ A pinch fine sea salt

For the filling:

■ 1 1⁄4 cups pumpkin puree

■ 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

■ 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

■ 1⁄2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

■ 1⁄4 teaspoon ground ginger

■ 1⁄8 teaspoon ground cardamom

■ 1⁄2 teaspoon fine sea salt

■ 3 large eggs, separated into whites and yolks

■ 3⁄4 cup low-fat buttermilk

■ 1⁄2 cup demerara sugar

■ 2 tablespoons flour

For the crust, preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius. Brush a 23cm glass pie plate with a bit of the melted butter.

Stir together the crushed gingernuts, icing sugar and sea salt in amedium bowl, then mix in the remaining melted butter. Press the mixture into the bottom and up the sides of the pie plate, making sure it’s packed in an even layer. Bake for 10 minutes or until the crust is just starting to brown at the edges. Do not overbake. Transfer to a wire rack to cool while you make the filling.

For the filling, combine the pumpkin puree, melted butter, lemon juice, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, and salt, in a large bowl, stirring until well incorporated. Whisk together the egg yolks, buttermilk, sugar, and flour, in a measuring cup, then stir into the pumpkin mixture until well blended.

Place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer (fitted with a balloon-whisk attachment) or a handheld electric mixer, and beat on medium-high speed until soft peaks form. Use a flexible spatula to gently fold the egg whites into the pumpkin mixture just until no trace of white remains. Pour the filling into the cooled gingernut crust, using the spatula to slightly mound the filling in the centre.

Bake for 40-45 minutes or until just set/barely jiggly. Transfer the pie to a wire rack to cool for at least 2 hours before serving.