Pumpkin Chiffon Pie
All the spice of pumpkin pie in a light, mousse-like filling: a cooked pumpkin custard set with gelatin and folded with whipped cream, piled into a toasted walnut and graham cracker crust and chilled, no baking of the filling.
The chiffon pie is a Los Angeles invention. Wikipedia says Monroe Boston Strause, a Los Angeles pie maker known as "the Pie King", invented the chiffon pie in 1926, folding beaten egg whites into a cornstarch-thickened filling; a 1939 Herald Tribune article by Clementine Paddleford dated his chiffon pies to 1921, and the story that his mother named it, saying it was like chiffon, is told but not documented (Wikipedia: and). His 1939 book "Pie Marches On" taught bakers to weigh ingredients. Strause is also credited with popularizing the graham cracker crust, the natural partner for soft fillings. Pumpkin chiffon became a mid-century Thanksgiving favorite. This version, from Yankee Magazine, sets the custard with gelatin and lightens it with whipped cream instead of raw egg whites; Yankee first ran it in 2003 as part of food writer Jane Walsh's Thanksgiving menu.
🇺🇸 This one is American
All the spice of pumpkin pie in a light, mousse-like filling: a cooked pumpkin custard set with gelatin and folded with whipped cream, piled into a toasted walnut and graham cracker crust and chilled, no baking of the filling.
🇬🇧 The original
The English original is a lidded pie of sliced pumpkin layered with apples, herbs and spice, a 1600s recipe from Hannah Woolley. See the Pumpion Pie (Hannah Woolley's 17th-Century English Pumpkin Pie) recipe.
Why it works the kitchen science
Gelatin plus whipped cream
The cooked custard carries the flavor and the gelatin sets it, while the whipped cream's air bubbles make it light; folding at room temperature keeps the bubbles from being crushed by a half-set custard.
A walnut graham crust
Ground walnuts add oil and toastiness, so the crust stays crisp under a cold, moist filling.
Step by step
- Step 1
Heat the oven to 350°F with a rack in the second-lowest position. Pulse the walnuts in a food processor until coarsely ground, add the graham crumbs and brown sugar, and pulse while drizzling in the melted butter. Press firmly over the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie plate.
- Step 2
Bake the crust 12 to 15 minutes, until browned at the edges. Cool it completely.
- Step 3
In a medium saucepan over low heat, whisk the whiskey, milk and gelatin constantly 2 to 3 minutes, until the gelatin fully dissolves. Whisk in the brown sugar, then the eggs one at a time.
- Step 4
Still over low heat and whisking, add the pumpkin, spices and salt. Cook, whisking, 5 to 7 minutes, until smooth, steaming and 160°F; do not let it boil.
- Step 5
Scrape the custard into a large bowl and cool it at room temperature, about 45 minutes, stirring now and then. Don't refrigerate it, or it will set before you fold.
- Step 6
Whip the cream to firm peaks. Fold it into the cooled custard in two additions until no streaks remain, pile the filling into the crust and refrigerate at least 2 hours, until set. Garnish with walnut halves. Keep leftovers refrigerated up to 3 days (our guideline).
Pumpkin Chiffon Pie
Serves 10 · one 9-inch pie · 55 min total
Crust
- 1 cup walnut halves
- 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
- 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 5 tbsp salted butter, melted
Filling
- 1 1/2 tbsp whiskey or brandy (or water)
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- 1 envelope (1/4 oz, about 2 1/4 tsp) unflavored powdered gelatin
- 2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cups cold heavy cream
- Walnut halves, for garnish
Method
- Heat the oven to 350°F with a rack in the second-lowest position. Pulse the walnuts in a food processor until coarsely ground, add the graham crumbs and brown sugar, and pulse while drizzling in the melted butter. Press firmly over the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie plate.
- Bake the crust 12 to 15 minutes, until browned at the edges. Cool it completely.
- In a medium saucepan over low heat, whisk the whiskey, milk and gelatin constantly 2 to 3 minutes, until the gelatin fully dissolves. Whisk in the brown sugar, then the eggs one at a time.
- Still over low heat and whisking, add the pumpkin, spices and salt. Cook, whisking, 5 to 7 minutes, until smooth, steaming and 160°F; do not let it boil.
- Scrape the custard into a large bowl and cool it at room temperature, about 45 minutes, stirring now and then. Don't refrigerate it, or it will set before you fold.
- Whip the cream to firm peaks. Fold it into the cooled custard in two additions until no streaks remain, pile the filling into the crust and refrigerate at least 2 hours, until set. Garnish with walnut halves. Keep leftovers refrigerated up to 3 days (our guideline).
Adapted from Yankee Magazine's "Pumpkin Chiffon Pie" (recipe by Jane Walsh, first published 2003; web page dated August 25, 2025), as written for 8 to 10 (we call it 10). Yankee cooks the custard "until smooth and steaming"; the 160°F target is our addition from USDA FSIS's egg row. Yankee Magazine. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
All sources (3)
Tips
- The crust can be made up to 3 weeks ahead and frozen (Yankee).
- Yankee's editors say the spirits can simply be left out; use 1 1/2 tbsp water.
- If the custard sets too much before folding, warm the bowl over a pan of warm water for a minute and whisk until loose.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Monroe Strause invented chiffon pie in 1926. Disputed: Wikipedia gives 1926; Clementine Paddleford's 1939 Herald Tribune article said 1921.
- His mother named it. Folklore: Wikipedia says the name is believed to come from her, and that his book does not say.
- Chiffon pie uses raw egg whites. Disputed as a rule: Strause's original folded in beaten egg whites (Wikipedia); this Yankee version uses whipped cream and no raw eggs, which we prefer for food safety.
- Strause invented the graham cracker crust. Disputed: he is credited with developing or popularizing it (search results quoting a bookseller and Wikipedia), but we found no primary evidence.
- Chiffon cake and chiffon pie are related. Folklore: the cake (Harry Baker, 1927) may be named after the pie; sources disagree.
Every other pumpkin dessert
Pumpion Pie (Hannah Woolley's 17th-Century English Pumpkin Pie)
Before the custard there was this: slices of squash browned in butter and baked under a pastry lid with tart apples, raisins, currants, sugar, spice and a splash of sherry, adapted from a 1670s English recipe.
Calabaza en Tacha (Mexican Candied Pumpkin in Piloncillo)
Wedges of whole pumpkin, skin and all, simmered for two hours in a dark syrup of piloncillo, cinnamon and orange until they turn deep brown and glossy, the candied pumpkin of Mexico's Day of the Dead.
Doce de Abóbora em Calda (Brazilian Pumpkin Cubes in Syrup)
Neat cubes of pumpkin soaked briefly in limewater, then simmered for two hours in a light sugar syrup and left to steep overnight, so they turn glassy and sweet while staying firm, the Brazilian way.
Kabak Tatlısı (Turkish Candied Pumpkin with Tahini and Walnuts)
Thick blocks of pumpkin layered with sugar and left overnight to make their own syrup, then baked until candied and served cool with crushed walnuts and a drizzle of tahini, no water added.
Kabocha Purin (Japanese Kabocha Pudding with Caramel)
Japan's custard pudding made with sieved kabocha squash, baked in a water bath over dark caramel, chilled and turned out so the caramel runs down the sides.
Sangkhaya Fak Thong (Thai Coconut Custard Steamed in a Whole Squash)
A small kabocha hollowed out, filled with coconut cream, palm sugar and egg custard scented with pandan, steamed until set, chilled and cut into wedges that show a yellow custard heart in an orange shell.
Classic American Pumpkin Pie
The Thanksgiving pie: a smooth custard of pumpkin puree, eggs, heavy cream, sugar, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg in a par-baked all-butter crust, pulled from the oven while the center still wobbles.
New England Squash Pie (Lydia Maria Child, 1832)
The old Yankee custard pie made with roasted winter squash instead of pumpkin, cooked with milk, sweetened with molasses and a little sugar, spiced with plenty of cinnamon and ginger, and baked in an open crust.
Southern Sweet Potato Pie
Silky sweet potato custard made with brown sugar, butter, sour cream, extra yolks, cinnamon, nutmeg and an optional splash of bourbon, baked in a crust lined with a thin layer of caramelized brown sugar.
Pumpkin Bread (Chocolate Chip Quick Bread)
King Arthur's super-moist oil-based pumpkin quick bread, made with canned pumpkin, nutmeg and vanilla, studded with chocolate chips and baked in one loaf pan.
Crustless Pumpkin Pie Cups
Classic pumpkin pie filling baked without the crust in six ramekins in a water bath, so it is in the oven in 10 minutes and ready in about 45, with the silky texture of the pie and none of the rolling.
Spiced Pumpkin Loaf with Pepitas, Inspired by Starbucks
A tender, heavily spiced pumpkin loaf sweetened with sugar and honey, scented with cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger and topped with crunchy pepitas, in the style of the coffee-shop pumpkin loaf. Inspired by, not official.
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