Messes and Successes

This weekend I hosted Gourmet Friends and made the Double-Decker Pumpkin-Caramel Pie (courtesy of my buddy Rachael Ray's magazine)and the filling turned out pretty well. But the topping? Not so much. As the preparation below suggests, I melted the caramel and then added it to the whipped cream. The only problem was, the caramel was too hot so the whipped cream went back to its liquid state. Tip for those who try it - skip the caramel all together. I ended up using what was left from whipped cream in a can and filled it in with the rest of the melted caramel topping. Yum!

Ingredients
1½ cups of crushed chocolate graham crackers
5 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1 egg white
3 whole eggs
2¾ cups heavy cream
One 15 oz. can pure pumpkin puree
½ cup light brown sugar
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
½ tsp salt 28 caramel candies
1 oz. bittersweet chocolate, for grating

Preparation
1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2) In a small bowl, stir the graham cracker crumbs and butter until combined. Press mixture onto the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie pan. Freeze until set, about 15 minutes.
3) In a small bowl, beat the egg white and lightly brush on the pie shell. Bake for 10 minutes and let cool.
4) Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix together the 3 whole eggs, 1 cup cream and the pumpkin puree, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice and salt until combined. Pour into the pie shell and bake until set, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool slightly, then refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight.
5) In a bowl, microwave the caramels with ½ cup cream at high power until melted, about 1½ minutes. Stir until smooth then let cool to room temperature.
6) Using an electric mixer, whip the remaining 1¼ cups cream until soft peaks form. Drizzle in the caramel and beat until well blended.
7) Spoon the caramel whipped cream on top of the pumpkin filling and refrigerate until completely chilled.
8) Before serving, coarsely grate the chocolate on top of the pie.