Whole Pumpkin Baked with Custard ♥ A Fun Recipe for Fall
Today's pumpkin recipe: Stuff a whole pumpkin with custard, bake it, and what do you get? A fun fall dessert!
Finally, pumpkins! For a year now, I've been waiting-waiting for pumpkin season. You see, two recipes had tucked themselves into the back of my brain and refused to let go. One cooked meat and vegetables into a stew, right in a whole pumpkin settled into the coals of a campfire -- sorry, I can't recommend that one yet, perhaps ever. The other cooked custard right inside a whole pumpkin. Yes, custard cooked inside a whole pumpkin, that one I happily recommend!
The stuffed pumpkin and custard recipe comes from "The Frugal Gourmet Cooks American" by Jeff Smith, an uneven but often fascinating look at 'American ethnic cooking'. The recipe's headnotes say that custard baked in a pumpkin was a favorite of George Washington. It's kind of a cozy fall dessert, definitely dramatic in appearance and meant to be shared.
2010 UPDATE Turns out, the fascination with stuffed pumpkins is an annual affair. Check out the brand-new Stuffed Pumpkin with Apple & Cranberry!
RECIPE for WHOLE PUMPKIN BAKED with CUSTARD
Hands-on time: 15 minutes
Time to table: 1 hour, 45 minutes
Serves 4
Time to table: 1 hour, 45 minutes
Serves 4
1 small pumpkin, preferably a 'sugar' pumpkin or a 'pie pumpkin' or anything other than a pumpkin whose destiny is a jack o'lantern
CUSTARD (makes about 2 cups liquid)
3 eggs, whisked well
1 cup cream (sorry, half & half doesn't thicken well)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon molasses
1 tablespoon dry sherry (optional but nice)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1 tablespoon butter, in tiny cubes
Preheat the oven to 350F or 400F. Wash the outside of the pumpkin very well. Carefully insert a knife into the flesh to cut off the 'top'. Remove and discard the seeds (or save them for Spicy Sweet Pumpkin Seeds) and the pumpkin 'gunk' inside.
Whisk together the custard ingredients, then pour into the pumpkin. Sprinkle the butter cubes over top. Place the stem-top back onto the pumpkin and transfer to a baking dish. Bake for about 90 minutes or until the custard is firm. (Check after 60 minutes but both pumpkins I cooked took a full 90 minutes.)
To serve, use long-stemmed spoons (such as iced tea spoons) to share, scooping up bits of the cooked pumpkin along with custard.
KITCHEN NOTES





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© Copyright 2009
© Copyright 2009
I love serving food in pumpkins because the presentation is so impressive. I usually use the baby pumpkins though, for individual serving sizes.
ReplyDeleteLooks beautiful.
Julie ~ I looked at the baby pumpkins but wondered if they were just for looks, not really edible. This would be gorgeous as individual servings although I must say, sharing was fun ;-)!
ReplyDeleteLike Julia, I love to use the baby pumpkins for soup. I'm lucky to live in an area where there are lots of farms and farmstands, and pumpkins of all shapes and sizes are easy to come by. I usually serve soup in pumpkins, but this custard is tempting!
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting idea. I have to say quite a few of those old Frugal Gourmet recipes have turned out to be good for me.
ReplyDeleteI love the presentation of this! Pumpkin plus custard is a sure winner in my book.
ReplyDeleteWow, this is so impressive! And, I love custard... thanks!
ReplyDeleteJust wondering why you changed Jeff Smith's original recipe?
ReplyDeleteHere's what I have:
1 5-7 lb. pumpkin
6 whole eggs, 2 c. whipping cream, 1/2 c. brown sugar, 1 T. molasses, 1/2 t. nutmeg, 1 t. cinnamon, 1/4 t. ginger, 2 T. butter. Bake 350 for 1-1.5 hours.
No mention of optional sherry. Can you explain the changes you show? I don't want to try this for the first time and have it turn out a flop.
Thanks.
Anonymous ~ The original recipe would have made about four cups of liquid, my pumpkin was considerably smaller, as are most pie pumpkins. So I halved the recipe, except for the spices since I prefer 'spice forward' recipes. I also added sherry, it's one of my long-time secret ingredients for custards, both sweet and savory. Hope you enjoy the recipe!
ReplyDeleteIs the ginger in the recipe dry or fresh?
ReplyDeleteKrista ~ Dried! Thanks for asking, I’ll clarify that detail the next time I update this recipe!
ReplyDeleteI have been making Jeff Smith's recipe for 20 years, today I'm going to try this variation. I miss The Frugal Gourmet.
ReplyDeleteHockey Mom ~ Let me know how it goes! I’m thinking it’ll be Sunday dinner dessert here ...
ReplyDelete