Nutmeg-Maple Cream Pie

I once made this for Thanksgiving but it never had its day in the sun. This pie deserves it! The ingredients are few and the steps are simple, so this is the pie for your best crust and quality maple syrup. Please do not substitute pancake syrup with imitation maple. It will not function in the right way.

Nutmeg-Maple Cream Pie
(recipe from the New York Times)

Ingredients:

• ¾ cup maple syrup
• 2 ¼ cups heavy cream
• 4 egg yolks
• 1 whole egg
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 pre-baked 9-inch pie crust

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.