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- Thanksgiving
Don't wait until serving time to discover your pumpkin pie is underdone or overcooked.
ByGina Hamadey Bergman
Updated on September 26, 2023
Part of the challenge of baking this iconic holiday dessert is determining how to tell if your pumpkin pie is done. You have to get it right: If it's underdone, you have raw crust and gooey filling; if it's overdone, you have a cracked top and rubbery texture. And too much poking and prodding can make your lovely creation resemble the dark side of the moon by serving time.
Save the day—and your dessert—by using our expert tips for baking pumpkin pie. We asked Valerie Luck, founding partner and chief executive pie officer at Honeypie Cafe in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to share ways to tell if a pumpkin pie is done, as well as guidance for baking the perfect pumpkin pie.
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Bake for the Right Amount of Time
When it comes to how long to cook a pumpkin pie, there's no definitive answer. Baking time varies with the size and depth of thepie pan, as well as the material it's made of (metal, glass, or ceramic). The type of pumpkin used (fresh or canned) and the altitude you're baking at also affect baking time.
Besides following your recipe's instructions, a good rule of thumb is to start checking your pie for doneness between 45 and 60 minutes of baking. Keep in mind that every time you pop open the oven to check your pie, that lowers your oven's temperature and prolongs bake time.
For the perfect pumpkin pie, Luck insists that blind baking is your friend, referring to the practice of partially baking the crust before adding and baking the pumpkin filling. "If you want to make sure your crust is crispy on the bottom, always blind bake your crust first at a higher temp—like 400—before pouring in your unbaked filling and finishing your pie bake," she suggests.
With the filling, "I recommend baking pumpkin pies on a lower setting than most recipes call for and for a little longer—so 300 to 325 degrees for maybe an hour or more," Luck says. "It will keep the pie from cracking down the center and make for a more luscious custard filling."
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Check for a Jiggle, Not a Wiggle
When it comes to a home-baked pumpkin pie, the famous old ditty, "jiggle like jello, not wiggle like a wave," is funny, but true. "You can tell it is done when the edges are set and the center has a little jiggle to it," explains Luck. "Remember, when you remove it from the oven it will continue cooking as it rests and cools down."
These telltale signs signal you've probably left your pumpkin pie in the oven too long:
- Small bubbles in the filling around the edges of the pie
- Filling that cracks or separates from the crust
If you see any of these, remove the pie from the oven immediately.
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Try the Toothpick Test
The way you test a cake for doneness also works for pumpkin pie: Insert a toothpick (or a knife) near the center of the pie and, if it comes out clean, your pie is done. If it's oh-so-close, keep in mind that the custard continues to cook as the pie cools.
If the filling needs more oven time but the edges of the crust are already brown, cover those edges with foil or use purchased pie crust shields to keep the crust from overbaking.
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Take Its Temperature
If you have an instant-read thermometer, you can use that instead of a toothpick to check the doneness of your pumpkin pie. A minimum temperature of 165 degrees F is required to kill bacteria, but the FDA recommends a reading of 180 degrees (a 15-degree buffer) to ensure safety.
Any oven setting over 350 degrees F is likely overdoing it for a pumpkin pie. Baking in a too-hot oven makes the custard puff up like a soufflé and then fall when it cools.
A pumpkin pie that bakes in the wrong oven rack position—in this case, too close to the oven's top heating element—can result in its filling developing a skin that cracks as it bakes. It also causes the filling to settle while cooling, making it pull away from the crust. To prevent this, bake your pie in the lower third of the oven.
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Allow the Pie to Cool Completely
You can't rush a pumpkin pie. A still-warm pie doesn't hold its shape well when served, and that may explain why your perfectly baked pie turned into a mushy mess on a plate.
During the pie's cooling period, between 1 and 2 hours at room temperature, the filling continues to bake and firm up. After 2 hours, a good chill in the refrigerator allows the pumpkin custard to set further. Factor in several hours after baking to let your pumpkin pie cool and then chill, according to recipe instructions.
If you're in a hurry, you can transfer a pumpkin pie right from the oven to the fridge to cool faster, right? Wrong! Cooling too quickly can make your pumpkin pie sink.
There's a reason every recipe says to cool a pumpkin pie gradually at room temperature for at least an hour before chilling. Any sooner, and the temperature change is too drastic for the custard to set properly, so never refrigerate a pie before it’s completely cooled.
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