If there is one dessert you should make this holiday season, I promise you it should be this gingerbread cream pie. It is SO easy to make (you only need to pre-bake the crust), has few ingredients and is just way too delicious to not give it a whirl.
What is a gingerbread cream pie?
Have you heard of a gingerbread cream pie? No? Well... I hadn't either, but I wanted a Christmas pie that was A) easy to make and B) absolutely, out of this world, spectacular. There are three main components of this pie.
- The base. This base... you guys. Is so good. It's a combination of graham cracker crumbs, melted butter and cinnamon. Simple, easy, but so dang good. The aroma that fills up your kitchen when the crust is baking is something every human deserves to smell.
- The filling. The filling is probably the best part of this pie. It's a combination of warm gingerbread spices, cream cheese, whipped cream and powdered sugar. All of these ingredients come together to make a creamy and smooth irresistible pie filling. Plus, it does not need to be baked, just chilled!
- The topping. Now, this topping is optional, but totally recommended. I like to top this pie with whipped cream and crushed up ginger snaps (YUM!) but you can really top it with whatever you want. Whipped cream, caramel drizzle, etc., the options are endless.
Key Ingredients
The base
- Graham cracker crumbs the bulk of the crust! Graham crackers add the perfect amount of sweetness and their crumb combined with melted butter make the perfect base for any pie!
- Unsalted butter using unsalted butter allows you to control exactly how much salt goes into your recipe, so that's why we use it here!
- Cinnamon ground just to add a little bit of warm spice and yumminess to the crust
The filling
- Heavy cream the heavy cream is whipped which then gets folded into the remaining ingredients. It gives the filling the creaminess it needs
- Cream cheese adds the perfect amount of tang to the filling, and thickens it up a bit
- Powdered sugar powdered sugar is perfect for this recipe because it provides the perfect amount of sweetness and it also is fine enough so you don't feel the sugar granules when you eat it
- Vanilla extract just for a little flava flave
- Cinnamon ground necessary spice in a gingerbread dessert
- Ginger ground see above 🙂
- Nutmeg ground see above see above 🙂
- Molasses optional not everyone likes the taste of molasses (me included) so that is why it is optional in this recipe. Plus, there is only a very, very small amount used (¼ teaspoon!)
I hope you all love this recipe - happy Christmas baking, friends! xx
Gingerbread Cream Pie
If there is one dessert you should make this holiday season, I promise you it should be this gingerbread cream pie. It is SO easy to make (you only need to pre-bake the crust), has few ingredients and is just way too delicious to not give it a whirl.
Ingredients
Base
- 2 ½ cups (320 grams) graham cracker crumbs about 21 full sheets
- 6 tbsp (85 grams) unsalted butter melted
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
Filling
- 1 cup (230 mL) heavy cream room temperature
- 1 8 oz package cream cheese room temperature
- 1 cup (120 grams) powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp molasses optional
Topping
- Whipped cream optional
- Ginger snaps optional
- Caramel drizzle optional
Instructions
Base
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius) and grease an 8 inch or 9 inch pie dish or springform pan.
- In a food processor or blender, process the full graham cracker sheets until they are a fine crumb. If you do not have a food processor, place the graham cracker sheets in a ziplock bag and gently hit them with the back of a wooden spoon/spatula/rolling pin until they are a fine crumb.
- Add the melted butter and cinnamon and pulse until the mixture is combined (or mix in a medium-sized bowl). It should resemble wet sand.
- Press the mixture into the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Start with the sides by working your fingers around the edges of the pan, pressing the mixture against it. Then, press the mixture into the bottom of the pan. You can use your hands, an offset spatula, or the bottom of a measuring cup for this, but I find that just using your hands makes it the most smooth!
- Bake the crust for 10 minutes, then let it cool either at room temperature or in the fridge.
Filling
- While the crust is baking and cooling, prepare the filling. In the bowl of a stand mixer using the whisk attachment, or using a handheld mixer, beat the heavy cream on high speed for 2-3 minutes until stiff peaks form.
- In a separate bowl, beat the cream cheese for a minute until creamy. Add the powdered sugar and beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then turn up the speed to medium-high and beat for 1-2 minutes until smooth and combined. Add the vanilla extract, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and molasses (if using) and beat on medium-high speed until combined.
- Then, add the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture and fold together until completely combined. Pour the filling into an even layer on top of the crust and let chill for at least 4 hours or overnight in the fridge, or for 2 hours in the freezer.
- Top with whipped cream, crushed ginger snaps, caramel drizzle, etc., and enjoy!
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trinity
Wonderful & so easy to make! I needed a quick treat to bring to my mother-in-law's and this was perfect! I made it the day before we left and froze it overnight rather than refrigerating and it lasted our 4 hour car ride with no problem! I will absolutely be making this again!
Jess Italiano
I am so happy to hear that!! I am glad it lasted your car ride and that you enjoyed 🙂