Paleo Pumpkin Custard

Simple Staple Ingredients Are Amazing

What does having staple ingredients mean? Basically, staple ingredients are considered foods or spices that are always kept in your pantry for your baking needs. Things like olive oil, coconut oil, all types of spices, coconut milk, almond meal, coconut flour, eggs, etc. Everyone's staples will be different. It just depends on what meals you make the most often and what ingredients you need for those. 

Making pumpkin custard was a perfect example of how much I love having staple ingredients in my cabinets. Besides, eating pumpkin is good for you!

Health Benefits of Pumpkin

Canned pumpkin is high in the vitamin A precursor beta-carotene, which gives the pumpkin its orange color. Consuming foods rich in beta-carotene may lower your risk for heart disease and certain types of cancer, as well as some of the degenerative effects common in aging, according to the University of Illinois. Always try to get 100% pumpkin when looking for canned pumpkin. DO NOT get pumpkin pie filling because it contains extra ingredients and isn’t good for you. 

Don't let the time it takes to bake deter you. I sat and read a book cuddled in a warm blanket while they baked. You can workout, crochet (it's actually very calming- I know why older people do it! ha), clean the house, etc. 

PREP: 10 minutes

Cook time: 1 hour - 1 hour 20 minutes

Total: 1 hour 10 minutes - 1 hour 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS 

1 cup canned pumpkin puree

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1 pinch of sea salt

2 pinches of grated nutmeg (I used ground nutmeg)

2 eggs (try for organic)

1/4 cup natural maple syrup 

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup coconut milk (full fat)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees

Set a pot of water on to boil (enough water to fill the baking pan as directed below)

Combine pumpkin and all spices in one bowl

In a smaller bowl, beat the eggs then whisk in the maple syrup, vanilla and coconut milk

Whisk the egg mixture into the pumpkin mixture until well combined

Pour the custard into 6- 1/2 cup ramekins

Place the ramekins in a baking pan (I could only fit 5 glass ramekins into my pan- work with what you got!) and add enough boiling water to the dish to come up 2″ high around the ramekins.

Carefully place in the oven and bake for *60 minutes or until a knife/fork inserted into the center of the custard comes out clean.

Custard texture should be a semi-solid

*I ended up leaving mine in an additional 20 minutes just to make sure they were done.

All the Best --

Enjoy!