It is the season for baking and holiday foods. One item that I enjoy making this time of year is a pumpkin custard. I have always enjoyed pumpkin pie, but have thought the store bought or home made pies have been lacking flavor. Also I am not a huge fan of crust. So the last few years I have been making pumpkin custards. A pumpkin custard is basically a pumpkin pie without the crust. I also put in more spices to improve the flavor. In response to several favorable comments on my custard I am offering the recipe:
Pumpkin - pie pumpkins work best, but can variety are an acceptable substitute. Open the pumpkin, clean out the seeds. Cook the pumpkin in a 350-400 degree oven until it becomes soft (just like cooking squash), this will take 30-60 minutes depending on the thickness of the pumpkin. Let the pumpkin cool, then spoon out the pumpkin, avoiding the skin. Cook enough pumpkin to have at least 3 cups.
You will need the following items: Eggs, evaporated milk, molasses, honey, maple syrup, cinnamon, clove, ginger (fresh grated is preferred along with powder), and nutmeg. Also custard dishes like the ones below are optimal.
The cooked pumpkin needs to be processed, either by hand, food processor or emulsifier. I have used both of the later and find they work well to make smooth consistency. To 2.5 cups processed pumpkin, add three eggs, 12 oz can evaporated milk, 3 tbs molasses, 3 tbs honey, 2 tbs maple syrup. Mix well here in the processor or with the blender. I usually give the mixture a taste here for sweetness. We both tend to cook with less sweetener, so by all means if you have a sweet tooth feel free to add more of any of the sweetening agents.
Now add the spices. As I mentioned above, I have usually found pumpkin pie to be a bit bland, so I go heavy on the spices. Again here, spice to preference using the basic measurements as a starting point. Add 2 teaspoons cinnamon and one teaspoon nutmeg, clove and ginger. I like to add fresh grated ginger here too, so if you have it on hand, try it out...it really give the custard a kick. I will add 2-3x the spices to my custards, so do not feel shy to try out your own blends to suit your taste.
This recipe will fill 8 of the Anchor custard dishes, maybe with a tad left over. Fill the custard dish right to the top, they generally do not spill over and will settled down a bit after they have cooked and cooled off. Place the custard into a secondary pan which is filled with water. Make sure the pan is deep enough to hold enough water so the custard dishes are surrounded by water to nearly the full height of the dish. This will provide even cooking, just like a cooking a cheesecake! The custards will need to cook approximately 50-60 minutes, at 400 degrees (preheated). The water will take some time to heat up, so keep this in mind. Test the custard with a tooth pick to make sure it has set. Take out of the oven and cool.
The custards are really wonderful when they are still warm, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream. They also are tasty chilled, and will last awhile in the refrigerator. The nice thing about the Anchor custard dishes is they come with plastic covers which allows you to take them to work or give to friends/family.
I am currently working on my third batch of custards today. The pumpkin went in the oven a few minutes ago and I will be mixing up a batch to enjoy this week.
Pumpkin - pie pumpkins work best, but can variety are an acceptable substitute. Open the pumpkin, clean out the seeds. Cook the pumpkin in a 350-400 degree oven until it becomes soft (just like cooking squash), this will take 30-60 minutes depending on the thickness of the pumpkin. Let the pumpkin cool, then spoon out the pumpkin, avoiding the skin. Cook enough pumpkin to have at least 3 cups.
You will need the following items: Eggs, evaporated milk, molasses, honey, maple syrup, cinnamon, clove, ginger (fresh grated is preferred along with powder), and nutmeg. Also custard dishes like the ones below are optimal.
The cooked pumpkin needs to be processed, either by hand, food processor or emulsifier. I have used both of the later and find they work well to make smooth consistency. To 2.5 cups processed pumpkin, add three eggs, 12 oz can evaporated milk, 3 tbs molasses, 3 tbs honey, 2 tbs maple syrup. Mix well here in the processor or with the blender. I usually give the mixture a taste here for sweetness. We both tend to cook with less sweetener, so by all means if you have a sweet tooth feel free to add more of any of the sweetening agents.
Now add the spices. As I mentioned above, I have usually found pumpkin pie to be a bit bland, so I go heavy on the spices. Again here, spice to preference using the basic measurements as a starting point. Add 2 teaspoons cinnamon and one teaspoon nutmeg, clove and ginger. I like to add fresh grated ginger here too, so if you have it on hand, try it out...it really give the custard a kick. I will add 2-3x the spices to my custards, so do not feel shy to try out your own blends to suit your taste.
This recipe will fill 8 of the Anchor custard dishes, maybe with a tad left over. Fill the custard dish right to the top, they generally do not spill over and will settled down a bit after they have cooked and cooled off. Place the custard into a secondary pan which is filled with water. Make sure the pan is deep enough to hold enough water so the custard dishes are surrounded by water to nearly the full height of the dish. This will provide even cooking, just like a cooking a cheesecake! The custards will need to cook approximately 50-60 minutes, at 400 degrees (preheated). The water will take some time to heat up, so keep this in mind. Test the custard with a tooth pick to make sure it has set. Take out of the oven and cool.
The custards are really wonderful when they are still warm, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream. They also are tasty chilled, and will last awhile in the refrigerator. The nice thing about the Anchor custard dishes is they come with plastic covers which allows you to take them to work or give to friends/family.
I am currently working on my third batch of custards today. The pumpkin went in the oven a few minutes ago and I will be mixing up a batch to enjoy this week.
