Pumpkin or Squash Pie

A plain, thrifty pumpkin custard of the kind that filled two pies from one pot of stewed squash. The proportions run lean on egg and heavy on liquid, so the set is the thing to watch.

• The hinge: bake to a set, not to a clockWith only 2 eggs to 3 cups purée and 2 cups milk this is a soft custard, and it will weep if overbaked. Pull the pies when the outer two inches are firm and the centre still wobbles as a unit; it finishes setting as it cools, at roughly 175F in the middle.
• "Moderate oven"Usually read as about 350-375F. One common modern approach starts custard pies hot, around 425F for the first 15 minutes to set the bottom crust, then drops to 350F for another 30 to 40 minutes. At a steady 350F throughout, allow 45 to 55 minutes.
• Thick stewed and sieved pumpkinThis means dry purée, not watery. Canned solid-pack pumpkin (not pie filling, which is already sweetened and spiced) is the direct substitute, one 15-oz can being a little under 2 cups. If you cook your own, roast or steam rather than boil, then drain and sieve or blend until smooth.
• Squash is the better choiceField pumpkins are stringy and wet. Butternut, kabocha or a small sugar pumpkin gives the dense, sweet flesh the recipe assumes.
• Milk, not creamWhole milk gives a lighter, more old-fashioned filling. Substituting evaporated milk or half cream for half the milk makes a richer custard that also sets more reliably at this egg ratio.
• SpicingHalf a teaspoon of cinnamon and a pinch of cloves across two pies is restrained by current taste. Ginger, nutmeg and allspice are absent entirely; add them if you want the familiar modern profile.
• Soggy bottom"Line 2 pie-plates as for custard pie" means an unbaked shell taking a wet filling. Chill the lined plates hard, and either partly blind-bake them or set the pies on a preheated baking sheet on a low rack.
• YieldTwo pies (a 9-inch plate suits the quantity), 12 to 16 servings. The filling comes to about 6 cups, so pour it in at the oven door rather than carrying full plates across the kitchen.