Pumpkin Custard in a Pumpkin

Sharing is caring!

Last Updated on October 22, 2016 by Priscilla

It’s fall, y’all. So naturally….. pumpkin everything. Everywhere. Have you seen the aisles of pumpkin things at Trader Joes? I had to see it for myself to believe it. Pumpkin cornbread croutons?? Go home TJ, you’re drunk.

That being said, I know there are millions of pumpkin pie recipes out there. Since going paleo/gluten-free, my pie crusts are made out of nuts and butter and/or lard. Lots of nuts. And all of those nuts affect my wallet And my waistline, so I am always looking for other ways to get my pumpkin fix.

So the other day, I had a beautiful pie pumpkin asking to be made into pumpkin pie, but I only had a few pecans left. So what did I do?

I baked the pie filling in a pumpkin.

IN THE PUMPKIN.

And it was delicious.

So I present to you.. Pumpkin Pie [custard] in a Pumpkin

You’ll notice that unlike a lot of other pumpkin custards, I added a little coconut flour to the mix. Since you are baking the custard in a pumpkin, adding the coconut flour will help soak up any liquid that continues to bake out of the pumpkin shell. Also, please feel free to add more sweetener to fit your taste. I don’t eat too many sweets these days, so I just needed a little honey to sweeten the naturally-sweet pumpkin for me.

Pumpkin Custard Baked in a Pumpkin Shell

Ingredients:

• 1-2 medium-sized sugar pumpkin (you should yield ~2 cups roasted pumpkin from it)
• 1/2 cup coconut milk (I use this brand)
• 2 eggs
• 3 Tbsp. honey (more if you’d like)
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice (cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, ginger)
• 1 Tbsp. coconut flour

Steps:

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Cut the top off of the pumpkin. My pumpkin was about 6 inches high, and I cut about an inch or two off of the top. Alternatively, cut the pumpkin in half vertically so you have two equal halves.
3. Scoop out the pumpkin seeds and set aside (bonus – toss the seeds in a little coconut oil and roast at 375)
4. Roast both halves of the pumpkin on a baking sheet until it’s just soft enough for you to scoop out the flesh. You will probably need to take out the top of the pumpkin before the bottom half.
5. Once the pumpkin has cooled a bit, begin scooping out the pumpkin with a spoon. I recommend leaving a little bit of flesh around the sides and bottom, since we are going to put the pumpkin back in the oven.
6. Measure out about 2 cups worth of pumpkin flesh and put in a food processor or blender with the coconut milk, spices, and honey.
7. Blend until mixture is smooth. Depending upon whether you use a blender or food processor, the time will vary. While it’s blending, decrease oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
8. Taste mixture and add more sweetener if necessary.
9. Add 2 eggs and blend until smooth, about 30 seconds.
10. Add coconut flour and blend for another 30 seconds.
11. Let mixture sit for 2-5 minutes to let coconut flour do it’s thing.
12. Pour mixture into pumpkin and bake at 350 for 30 min-1 hour depending upon how hot your oven is, and how thick your custard is. *You should bake the pumpkin on a baking sheet or in some kind of glass container.
13. Remove and let cool.
14. Garnish with roasted pumpkin seeds or nuts before eating. Dig your spoon into the custard and also get some of the remaining pumpkin flesh along with the custard, which has a fabulous texture and helps cut some of the richness and sweetness of the custard!