Pumpkin & Caramel Custard

Photo credit: © Eatwell101.comDiscover a new way to use pumpkin to make delicious desserts. Caramel, pumpkin and chestnuts: this custard offers a fragrant mix of flavors. Pumpkin is so subtle that it’s almost impossible to notice it—perfect for kids who don’t like vegetables!

Photo credit: © Eatwell101.com

The specificity of this recipe lies in the addition of pumpkin flesh in the custard, steamed and pureed, and this changes everything! The custards takes a beautiful orange color. You can even use the custard without saying what’s in it and make your surrounding guess the ingredients: it’s a safe bet that nobody will find the pumpkin!

Photo credit: © Eatwell101.com

Watch out your children when working the caramel: the caramel reaches a high temperature of 150°C, so be very careful! To prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pan, I used to stop the cooking with one or two tablespoons of hot water… but beware of projections when you pour hot water. Leave it slightly at lower temperature. You can let the vanilla bean steep in the preparation.

Ingredients list: pumpkin and caramel custard

Serves 4

For the custard:

• 1 small pumpkin (2/3 pound – 300g)
• 2 cups (50cl) whole milk
• 1 vanilla bean
• ½ teaspoon ginger powder
• 2 eggs + 2 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup (100g) sugar

Caramel:

• 1/2 cup (100g) sugar

Preparation: pumpkin and caramel custard

1. Cut the pumpkin in big chunk, don’t peel it. Steam for 15 minutes.

2. The custard: Place the milk and the vanilla bean, grated, in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer. Whisk together eggs, egg yolks and sugar. Temper the hot milk mixture into the eggs while whisking. Add the pumpkin puree and the ginger powder.

3. Caramel: Place the sugar in a small saucepan and cook until you get a medium golden caramel.

4. Pour the custard over the caramel and bake it in a water bath for 45 minutes at 320°F (160°C) in your oven.