¾ cup pure maple syrup
1½ cups canned pumpkin
1 cup sweetened condensed milk
2 cups milk
⅓ cup sugar
3 eggs, plus 5 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
¼ teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a small saucepan over medium heat, boil maple syrup until it reaches 230 degrees, about 8 to 10 minutes. Immediately pour boiling syrup into bottom of a 1½-quart baking dish, tilting pan to coat entire surface of dish. Let harden. In a large bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients until smooth. Pour over hardened syrup. Put dish inside a larger pan and place on the middle oven rack. Pour enough water inside outer pan to reach halfway up baking dish. Bake until just set, about 1½ hours. Remove pan from water bath and cool on a rack. Cover pan and chill for at least 4 hours or overnight. To serve, run a thin knife around edge of pan and invert.
Yield: 8-10 servings