the temperature drops causing a drying effect which cracks the top . try a spray bottle of water to use . spray a fine mist of water on the top after you get it out of the over and spray it again after five minutes and again after ten minutes. don't spray too much , if you spray it till the water forms drops , or starts rolling, that's too much. just fine water mist. that should help. if the pie cools too fast that can cause the cracking or movement.

• it doesn't crack because it dried out. It cracks because it swells in the oven and then shrinks when it cools. If it cools too fast it will shrink too fast leaving a crack down the middle. This can also happen if you over-bake. Don't cool the pie in a cold or drafy room and remove the pie just before the center is done, the residual heat in the pie will finish the baking. You could cover with a towel after taking the pie from the oven until the pie is closer to room temp if you find your pies continue to crack.

cooling it to fast or over mixing it

over cooking is a common cause of cracking in pies and cheesecakes that are pudding like. do not over cook as it will continue to cook after taking out of oven. what looks to be not cooked most times is done. The center should still be wiggly.

Don't stress about it. It's only a pie. Cut it into wedges and serve with lots of fresh, unflavoured cream, and nobody will ever know the difference.

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cooling too fast, spraying with water, overmixing...are all wrong. the is simple. it is a baked custard that got overcooked. sure, you can cover that up by cooling it gently or wetting it (gross), but it will still have a bad consistency at the end...more like scrambled eggs than a smooth custard. i'd say to cut 15 minutes off your cooking time, or do the "custard test"...stab it with a knife in the center and quickly remove it. then touch the knife to your lip. it should be very hot on your lip, and the hole from it should vanish when you remove the knife. if the hole remains, it is overcooked. it the knife doesn't strike you as very hot, it isn't ready yet. after a few tries, this method will allow you to cook any sort of baked custard perfectly, every time.

One recipe I found had the following ingredients.

2 cups pumpkin puree 1 cup heavy cream 1/2 cup milk 4 eggs 3/4 to 1 cup granulated sugar, according to taste 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander seed 1/2 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger

This does not include the crust witch would have several more ingredients. There are many ways of making pumpkin pie with various different ingredients.

Ingredients:

175 g (6ozs.) Short pastry roll out and line a 230mm (9inch) pie dish

1 cup cooked mashed pumpkin

2 eggs

half a cup of brown sugar

half a teaspoon of salt

half a teaspoon of cinnamon

half a teaspoon mixed spice

quarter teaspoon nutmeg

3 quarters of a cup of milk

Directions:

Mix or beat filling ingredients thoroughly adding milk

last. Pour into pastry shell and bake 20 mins at 220

degrees celsius (425 degrees F) Then about 30 mins at 180 degrees C (350 degrees F) till filling is set.

I've seen them over 2800 pounds at the Ipswich show a pumpkin can get bigger than 30 inches.

It was so incredible, just amazing, the biggest pumpkin ever possible i think!

Yes! You need to cook it though. You could use it in a curry or a soup too. I always toast the seeds and sprinkle them in salad.