pumpkin ginger custard {sms}

I cannot tell you when I last ate homemade pumpkin pie.  I believe pies eaten were by Mrs. Smith, Entenmann's, or ShopRite, which, while wonderfully spiced and smooth, still fall short of the real thing.

And that is why I fell in love with this custard.  I need the real deal.  It is silky.  It is smooth.  It is decadent, but only in the best possible way.  AND it is simple and fast to make.

I regret making only half the recipe, but that was all the heavy cream I had on hand.  I also did not have cinnamon sticks, though in rifling through my spice cabinet I found seven kinds of salts, four chili powders, three ground cinnamon, and cloves four ways.  It's time to purge.

I halved the recipe, which resulted in three ramekins.  I placed them in a baking pan and poured water halfway up the sides.  They baked for about 35 minutes.

I swooned.  And I ate.  I shared the first one with The Daughter, and an hour later, I was digging into the second one.  You can see all the other wonderful results at Sweet Melissa Sundays' link.

Pumpkin Ginger Custard

from The Sweet Melissa Baking Book by Melissa Murphy

Printable Recipe

One 6x1-inch piece fresh ginger, unpeeled, sliced thinly, and coarsely chopped

2 cinnamon sticks, crushed

1 cup heavy cream

¼ cup whole milk

2 large eggs

2 large egg yolks

⅔ cup sugar

½ teaspoon kosher salt

2 cups fresh or canned pumpkin puree

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the ginger, crushed cinnamon sticks, heavy cream, and milk to scalding. Remove from the heat, cover, and let steep for 10 minutes. Return the saucepan to medium heat and bring back to scalding.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg yolks, sugar, and salt until pale yellow. Whisk in the hot ginger cream little by little, until combined. Strain the mixture into a clean pitcher and set aside.

In a separate bowl, briefly whisk the pumpkin puree until smooth. Slowly whisk in the ginger custard until incorporated.

Pour the pumpkin custard into individual ramekins. Place the ramekins into a roasting dish and pour hot water halfway up around the dishes. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until set — the center is no longer jiggly. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

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