If you love Pumpkin Pie and its close cousin: the ‘Sweet Potato’ Pie, I think you’ll loooove this yummy Carrot Pie. It’s creamy and lightly-spiced with a touch of cardamon, maple syrup and brown butter. Plus it’s healthy since it’s made with carrots. Which means you can have a couple pieces guilt-free–since your eyesight depends on it and all!
Most people love carrot cake. It’s one of the most popular desserts on any restaurant menu for good reason. But if you ask anyone if they want to try a Carrot Pie, they’ll probably look at you like you have 3 heads. It’s okay for a cake to be made with carrots, so why not a pie? Right?
This Carrot Pie is a bit sweeter than a pumpkin pie, but the key is roasting the carrots for the best flavour. Then you add some spices (cinnamon, cardamon and nutmeg), maple syrup, cream and brown butter–which takes it to the next level (doesn’t brown butter take everything to the next level?). Before serving, I topped each slice with some coconut whip and a light sprinkling of cinnamon & cardamon.
It’s so similar to pumpkin pie that you might be hard-pressed to tell the difference. Some of my friends (aka guinea pigs) didn’t even know it wasn’t pumpkin pie since it looks just like it and has a similar taste. But they knew it was somehow slightly different than their ‘usual’ pumpkin pie.
I first made a Carrot Pie last year when my Aunt Colleen and I were chatting about pies and she told me about all the unique pies she used to eat all the time when she was young (she’s in her 80s!) such as raisin pie, butterscotch pie and carrot pie. Since I’d never even heard of a carrot pie (my dad, who was her brother–loved butterscotch pie), I couldn’t wait to give it a try. Shortly after our pie conversation, I was in a used Bookstore and came across an old cookbook which included a recipe for a carrot pie. I mostly followed the recipe (with a few minor changes) and then brought the pie over to her place so we could share a couple of slices along with a cup of tea.
We really enjoyed it, and we both thought it tasted very similar to pumpkin pie (maybe a wee bit sweeter), but I definitely still preferred the pumpkin.
Just recently, however, I decided to try another Carrot Pie but with a few more additions to the recipes that I’d found in the book and also online (there aren’t too many and they are all fairly similar). It turned out fabulously! Instead of boiling the carrots and mashing them like most of the recipes called for, I decided to roast them. I also added maple syrup, cinnamon and brown butter, and a couple teaspoons of cardamon. In addition to the carrot puree, I added a small scoop of pumpkin to give the filling a bit more texture. But if you don’t have any pureed fresh pumpkin, or can of pumpkin handy, you can just leave it out. I had some leftover from my pumpkin dog treats and had just wanted to use it up. I was definitely more impressed with this version of a Carrot Pie. So yummy!
I’m sharing this carrot pie recipe today for the #24carrotgoals party– a Carrot Collaboration on Instagram that I’m a part of along with several other fabulous food bloggers & Instagrammers. If you’ve got a few bags of carrots sitting in the fridge and you’re looking to make a few new delicious appetizers, meals, or desserts with carrots (there’s a couple great carrot cake recipes to try—but only after you make my carrot pie, of course! haha) you need to check these out. See the end of this post (below recipe) for the links to my fellow bloggers’ awesome carrot recipes, or search the hashtag #24carrotgoals on IG (or on one of the two links below) for dozens of fabulous carrot recipes. A huge thank you to Rebecca & Ruth of Square Meal Round Table & Annie of What Annie’s Eating for organizing this collaboration and also for including me :D. I can’t wait to check out all the awesome recipes!
I hope you guys get a chance to make this Carrot Pie and please let me know what you think if you do make it. Don’t eat it all at once though, or you may end up with Superman’s X-Ray Vision haha (See! you just knew I had to geek up this post somehow hehe).
Have a wonderful week, everyone!
Dana xo
Carrot Pie with Maple & Cardamon
A delicious spiced cream pie made with freshly roasted carrots, maple syrup and cardamon
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 1 partially baked blind-baked Pie shell (homemade or storebought)
- Carrot Filling
- 2 cups roasted & pureed carrots roasting isn't necessary but it adds lots of flavour
- 1/3--1/2 cup fresh or canned pumpkin--(not pie filling_
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh nutmeg
- 1 to 2 teaspoons cardamon depending on how much you like this spice
- 3/4 cup brown sugar (or coconut sugar)
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 egg yolks plus 1 egg
- 3 Tablespoons brown butter or regular butter
- 1/2 cup full-fat cream or coconut cream
- 1 cup milk reg, almond, cashew, coconut
- 1 teaspoons vanilla bean extract
- pinch of sea salt and black pepper
Instructions
Instructions
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Roll out your favourite pie dough and put into a 9" pie plate, or skip if using a store-bought pie crust. If you're making your own crust, after rolling out and placing in pie plate, place in freezer for at least half an hour before baking to reduce likelihood of shrinking. Then blind-bake the crust (without filling, and using pie weights) for about 20-30 minutes at 300F. This will help prevent a soggy bottom. Allow crust to cool completely before filling.
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For the best flavour, roast carrots (I use about 8-10 medium large carrots) for the puree. Let cool slightly and then add the carrots to a large saucepan, along with pumpkin (if using), brown sugar, maple syrup, butter, spices and salt & pepper. Mix well and cook for a few minutes over medium heat just to combine.
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Add the mix to a blender and mix until fairly smooth. Then add cream, milk, and eggs. At this point, blend very briefly at the lowest speed just to combine the filling. You don't want to over-mix once you add the eggs and cream. Then add cornstarch and give it another quick whirl.
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Once the crust is cool, scoop the filling into the crust and place in the oven at 375F for about 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350F and bake for another 40-50 minutes--or just until the middle is just slightly jiggly. It will cook for a bit longer after it's out of the oven. Cool at room temperature for an hour and then cover and refrigerate....preferably overnight--- but at least for a few hours. Enjoy with some whip cream or coconut whip!
Check out some of these other delicious carrot recipes from my fellow bloggers:
Square Meal Round Table’s Rainbow Carrot and Ricotta Tart
The Cooking of Joy’s Candied Carrot Rose Tart
Better with Biscuits’ Carrot Souffle
This Healthy Table’s Beet and Carrot Galette
Always Eat Dessert’s Carrot Cake Squares with Orange Glaze
Figs & Flour’s Thai Peanut Pizza
Fufu’s Kitchen’s Oven Baked Carrot Fries Drizzled with a Tahini Sauce
Flours in Your Hair’s Carrot Pecan Cookies
Hola Jalapeño’s Roasted Carrots with Chipotle-Honey Butter
Worth Pause’s Paleo Thai Curry Carrot Soup
Something New for Dinner’s Minted Sous Vide Carrots with Balsamic Vinegar and Goat Cheese
What Great Grandma Ate’s Paleo Carrot Mug Cake
More Icing Than Cake’s Spiced Quinoa & Roasted Carrot Salad
Hot Dishing It Out’s Vegan Carrot Whoopie Pies
Confetti Kitchen’s Harissa-Roasted Carrots with Lentils and Yogurt
Easy and Delish’s Carrot Spaghetti
Pie Girl Bakes’ Five Spice Carrot Bundt Cakes with Bourbon Cream Cheese Glaze
Smoothies and Sundaes’ Carrot Cake Sourdough
Zestful Kitchen’s Moroccan Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms
Food by Mars’ Paleo Carrot Walnut Loaf Cake
Cosette’s Kitchen’s Sumac Carrot and Feta Salad
Measuring Cups Optionals’ Carrot Curry Soup
Rezel Kealoha’s Turkish Yogurt Carrot Dip
Pies and Prejudice’s Carrot Pie with Maple & Cardamom
Amanda Skrip’s Rainbow Roasted Carrots with Citrus Fennel + Arugula
Baking The Goods’ Roasted Carrot & Herby Feta Galette
Marianne Cooks’ Carrot and Zucchini Mini Muffins with a Cinnamon Frosting
Rumbly in My Tumbly’s Chai Carrot Pie
Cook Til Delicious’ Mini Carrot Cake
What Annie’s Eating’s Roasted Carrots with Herby Carrot Top Salsa Verde
It’s a Veg World After All’s Zesty Sunflower Carrot Spirals
