Nutmeg Maple Cream Pie

I know everyone else made this pie a million years ago when it first came out in the New York Times, and I've had it on my list to make for at least two years now, but with a title like "Nutmeg Maple Cream" it's not as compelling as anything chocolate or peach, you know? But this last weekend we had some cream and not much else, and I let the Robber choose a pie off my unmade list, and that all led to us finally making this pie and you know what? It was delicious and so easy to make. Seriously really delicious. Like a perfect flan, in a pie crust. Who knew? I wouldn't make it again in the summer, you know, when there are peaches around, but I would make it in the winter and be glad every time.

Of course I tripled the nutmeg and threw in a splash of cinnamon. So I'll put the increased number here and you can reduce it if you want. I used my mother's pie crust and that was good, but I also think the smoky almond and vanilla wafer crust from the Creamy Peach Tart recipe would also work well with this.

From the NYTimes (why why why aren't they having their Vegetarian Thanksgiving feature this year???)

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/15/dining/155crex.html?_r=0

Ingredients:

¾ C. maple syrup
2¼ C. heavy cream
4 egg yolks
1 whole egg
¼ tsp. salt

1 T. freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 pre-baked 9-inch pie crust of your choice

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, reduce maple syrup by a quarter, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in cream and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat. 

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks and egg. Whisking constantly, slowly add cream mixture to eggs. Strain mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a cup or bowl with pouring spout. Stir in salt, nutmeg and vanilla.

3. Pour filling into crust and transfer to a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until pie is firm to touch but jiggles slightly when moved, about 1 hour. Let cool to room temperature before serving.