I've found the key to successful (sweet enough & dark-ish) homemade pumpkin has been removing water from it - either by cheesecloth or better by a long & low open pot cook. This helps caramelize things a bit and help with the texture.

What kind of pumpkin did you use? I only cook with the small pie pumpkins. The big ones they sell for decorating and carving have little flavor. Also, Instead of boiling or steaming my pumpkin, I roast it before pureeing. It helps the sugars develop. And, definitely drain the water like cocobeanie suggests above.

OK, nevermind... I clearly read the post too fast. (Hanging head in shame...)

Did you add sugar and spices (from a pumpkin pie recipe) to it? I make pie from fresh pumpkins every year and it turns out great.

You can cook it down some more on the stove to make it suitable for pie. If you're worried about the color, make some of your sweetener in the pie molasses to darken things up.

Other things to make with pumpkin puree include pumpkin bread, pumpkin biscuits, pumpkin pancakes, and pumpkin cookies. You can also use it as a substitute for butter / oil in chocolate cakes to fairly good effect.

I made Afghan pumpkin with (accidentally) pureed pumpkin a couple days ago - so long as you keep the tomato chunky, it's fine and very tasty. (I used http://bit.ly/uJ8vtg ; there are many similar recipes around)

roasting the pumpkin till the skin get dark and wrinkly (almost over roasted) helps with the sweet and definitely express out the excess water. makes all the difference in the world. next time...

I second the suggestion to either hang in cheesecloth overnight, or "cook" it in a pot over med-low heat, to caramelize it and remove water. The wateriness definitely affects that flavor!

The recipe I use from America's Test Kitchen involves cooking the puree: http://www.americastestkitchen.com/recipes/detail.php?docid=17662&extcode=M**ASCA00

I made two pumpkin pies around Halloween, and the one from a yellowish pumpkin turned out better than the one from a can. I used the recipe above for both. I think if you strain it and cook it before baking, you'll be OK!

I have had the consistency of various sugar pumpkins turn out differently. To roast, I cut them in half and roast, cut side down for about an hour at 350. Perhaps enough water evaporates due to the pumpkin being halved but mine seems ok. I put the pulp in the Cuisinart to puree it and then freeze it in 3/4 c. amounts (that's how much pumkin puree my pie recipe calls for) in zipper freezer bags. Even my light yellow purees becomes a fairly dark pie. Especially after adding cinnamon, ginger, clove, and nutmeg.

I would just use roasted butternut squash and tell everyone it's pumpkin. It's way easier and it tastes great. Nobody will know!

I see that everyone has you covered on the advice to cook it down, but Food52 has pictures, directions and a recipe that should help. http://food52.com/blog/2739

Interestingly, Deb from Smitten Kitchen has a post today highlighting her opinion that from-scratch pumpkin puree just isn't always worth it, as there is quite a bit of variability in pumpkin flavor/quality from pumpkin to pumpkin:
http://smittenkitchen.com/2011/11/sweet-potato-and-marshmallow-biscuits/
I guess maybe that's what you experienced here!

I do suspect though that if you just cook it down and add the appropriate spices/sugar, etc., it would still make a delicious pie.

I would use it to make any of the lovely squash or pumpkin soup recipes that are appearing on all of the food blogs right now! Seeing as you already have it peeled, cooked, and pureed, it won't take anytime to whip up a soup.

Turn it savoury. If you haven't already spiced it, you can drain it and use it in lasagne or ravioli. If you thicken it up and add sage, salt, pepper and ricotta or béchamel you can't lose! Soup is great too. Apple pumpkin soup is great for fall.

I've been doing experiments with this for years with all kinds of different pumpkins/squash. I have to say, the sugar pie pumpkin is probably the worst one to use. I love using butternut squash. So easy, and EVERYONE loves it, even staunch pumpkin pie haters.

Varieties I like also are the cinderella pumpkin and the red kauri (sp).

I always roast mine, cut in half, and place butter, some salt and pepper on it and my secret ingredient ... fresh squeezed orange juice. It just adds balance. I just butter, salt, pepper and squeeze oj on it and place it all on parchment on a baking sheet. Skin peels right off when done. Amazing. If it's too watery after pureeing then saute it for a bit in a large shallow pan to evaporate, add 2 to 3 more Tbl oj for flavor. Make as directed.

I can't buy pumpkin puree in Australia- well they have it in the 'big cities' at specialty stores but it expensive, having been specially imported. I made my first pumpkin pie from scratch last week and my puree seemed fine- I roasted butternut squash (we call it butternut pumpkin) that had been peeled and cut into large chunks in a roasting tray with a little oil in the bottom, covered in foil for about an hour. Once cooked I pureed it in the food processor then strained it, putting it in a paper towel lined strainer for a couple of hours. You would be amazed how much liquid comes out. It was sweet and delicious. I think perhaps for you it just came down to a pumpkin that wasn't quite sweet enough, or ripe enough, and perhaps you needed to strain it- the sugar and spices you add to it can always make it taste better.

make pumpkin soup!

I find you have to puree it for a LONG time - like 5-10 minutes. I add water into it too, to get it nice and smooth. Then I let it drain over cheesecloth overnight.