Prep: 1 hour

Bake: 50 minutes

Serves: 8 to 12

1 (2- to 3-pound) green or red kabocha squash*

Canola oil

1 cup (packed) dark-brown sugar

1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

½ teaspoon fine salt

¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

2 cups heavy cream

3 eggs

Ginger crust (recipe follows)

Whipped cream, optional

1. Roast: Slice squash in half, north to south. Use an ice cream scoop to scrape out seeds and any stringy innards. Brush with a little oil. Set squash cut side down on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. Slide into a 400-degree oven and roast until tender (pierce with a fork, right through the skin), about 40 minutes.

2. Swirl: Scoop out orange flesh (discard skin) and drop it into the food processor. Swirl completely smooth. Measure 2 cups puree.

3. Toss: Use a fork to toss together sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt in small bowl.

4. Mix: Return squash puree to the food processor. Pour in cream, eggs, and sugar mix. Swirl smooth.

5. Bake: Pour squash mix onto baked ginger crust (still in its pan, still on a baking sheet). Slide into the center of a 400-degree oven and bake until pie is jiggly all the way across, about 50 minutes. Cool completely. Unsnap sides of pan, release pie. Slice and serve with whipped cream, if you like.

Ginger crust:

Stir together 1½ cups gingersnap crumbs, 5 tablespoons melted unsalted butter, and 3 tablespoons granulated sugar. Press firmly across the bottom of a deep 9-inch springform pan (the sort used for cheesecake). Set pan on a rimmed baking sheet. Slide into the center of a 400-degree oven and bake until crust is fragrant and slightly darkened, about 12 minutes. Cool.

*Kabocha squash, also called Japanese pumpkin, has sweet, dense flesh that makes excellent pumpkin pie. I got mine at Whole Foods. Check the farmers’ market or pumpkin patch. If you can’t find one, substitute one (2- to 3-pound) pie pumpkin.