Filling:
Nonstick vegetable oil cooking spray
Nonstick vegetable oil cooking spray
Two 1 1/2-pound sugar pumpkins or pie pumpkins, peeled, seeded, cut into 2-inch chunks (10 cups, 2 1/2 pounds)
2 tablespoons olive oil or canola oil
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream
4 large eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup packed golden brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick (4 ounces) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
4 tablespoons ice cold water
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup walnuts
Sweetened whipped cream
The dough can be made and rolled out 1 week ahead. Wrap the dough well with plastic wrap and freeze, and then thaw the dough before placing it in the pie dish. The pumpkin puree can be made 1 day ahead, covered and refrigerated. The baked pie is best eaten the day it is made, but it will keep for 1 day, covered and refrigerated. Bring the pie to room temperature before serving.
Position the rack in the bottom third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a heavy baking sheet with foil. Spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.
Toss the pumpkin with the oil on the baking sheet to coat. Sprinkle the cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves over the pumpkin and toss to coat. Arrange the mixture in an even layer over the baking sheet. Bake until the pulp is very tender and golden brown, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Transfer the pumpkin to a food processor. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes to allow any residual steam to soften the pumpkin further. Increase the oven temperature to 425°F.
In a food processor, blend the hot pumpkin, adding some of the heavy whipping cream to help move the pumpkin around, if necessary, until a smooth puree forms. Transfer the puree to a large bowl and cool. You should have about 2 3/4 cups of puree.
In a food processor, blend the flour, sugar, and salt. Add the butter and pulse 5 times until the butter is cut into pea-size pieces. Drizzle 4 tablespoons of ice water over the mixture. Pulse just until moist clumps form.
Gather the dough into a ball then flatten it into a disc. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 day.
Unwrap the dough. Starting from the center of the dough disc and rolling toward the edge, roll out the dough, rotating it and dusting the surface with flour to prevent the dough from sticking, until the dough is about 13 inches in diameter. Brush away any excess flour.
Place the rolling pin on the edge of the dough that's farthest away from you, and gently and loosely roll the dough around the pin toward you, until you have about half of it on the pin. Lift the pin over the edge of a 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Slowly unroll the dough over the dish, draping and centering it over the dish, and gently lift and coax down the dough into the dish. Lightly press the dough into the bottom corners and up the sides of the dish. Trim the overhang to 1/2 inch; let the dough hang over the sides of the dish.
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and remaining heavy whipping cream to blend. Whisk in the sugar, brown sugar, and salt to blend and dissolve the sugar. Add the pumpkin puree and whisk to blend well.
Pour enough of the pumpkin mixture into the prepared crust to fill completely but without it spilling over.
Carefully place the dish on the bottom shelf of the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F and continue baking until the filling is just set and slightly puffed and the crust is golden brown, about 50 minutes longer. The filling will jiggle slightly when the pie is gently jostled. Transfer the pie to a rack and cool.
Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the sugar over a heavy large sauté pan and cook over medium heat until the sugar melts and becomes golden brown, swirling and rotating the pan to cook the syrup evenly but do not stir, about 6 minutes. Add the walnuts and toss until the sugar syrup coats the walnuts.
Pour the walnut mixture onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, forming a thin layer of caramel and a single layer of walnuts. Set aside until the sugar coating cools and hardens. Break up the walnut mixture into large pieces.
Cut the pie into wedges. Top with the sweetened whipped cream, garnish with the caramelized walnuts, and serve.