Today I’m really delighted to welcome author friend Rose Anderson to my blog. Rose is a multi-talented and multi-published author of romance, as well as one of the founding members of the Exquisite Quills group of authors. I belong to several author groups, and Exquisite Quills is by far the friendliest and most supportive, due in large part to Rose’s warm personality.
Rose is also one of the contributors to our Bake, Love, Write dessert recipe book, (available from Amazon US
Thanks so much for taking time out of your busy writing schedule, Rose!
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Thanks for hosting me, Helena. This delicious recipe for pumpkin custard was one the colonial Americans loved. When my family was involved in living history, we’d be away from home most weekends presenting the history of centuries past to the public. We’d live in our historically correct attire and went without most modern conveniences. It was a unique experience to say the least. I’d spend my time preparing meals over an open fire and we’d often share with our living history friends. We had a large community all doing the same sort of historical interpretation, so when the public went home for the evening, it was all music and fun. The following recipe was made many times in a Dutch oven over a bed of hot coals. You need not get that fire going, it adapts well to the modern oven. I hope you enjoy.
Custard Baked in a Pumpkin
Lovely and delicious!
Preheat the oven to 350ºF (or 177ºC/gas mark 4)
1 small to medium-sized pumpkin –washed with top cut off (set this aside to use as a lid later). Remove seeds and pulp. Of all the whole pumpkins out there to choose from, pie pumpkins and sugar pumpkins are best for flavor. (British readers – the large pumpkins sold at Hallowe’en are not particularly good for baking. Supermarkets like Tesco’s often have what they call a “culinary pumpkin”, or else a round butternut squash makes a good substitute.)
Custard filling
This makes approximately 2 cups of custard liquid but will expand a bit as it bakes. Double the recipe as needed.
3 eggs whisked well
1 cup heavy cream (Brits – double cream)
½ cup brown sugar
1 Tablespoon corn syrup or light molasses (Brits – use golden syrup)
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. nutmeg
¼ tsp. ginger
1 Tablespoon Butter –cubed
Set pumpkin in a baking dish. Whisk together the custard ingredients then pour into the prepared pumpkin shell. Dot butter cubes over the top. Set the stem lid on top and bake until the custard is set. This varies with the thickness of the pumpkin so check on cooking progress after an hour. The custard should be firm and the pumpkin soft. To serve, dish cooked pumpkin along with custard. Top with whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon (these are optional).
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About Rose~
Rose is a multi-published, award-winning author and dilettante who loves great conversation and discovering interesting things to weave into stories. She lives with her family and small menagerie amid oak groves and prairie in the rolling glacial hills of the upper Midwest. With her active imagination, she writes everything from children’s stories to historical non-fiction.
Where to Find Rose~
Subscribe to Rose’s main blog for interesting topics and other writerly things
Find Rose’s scorching romances in ebook and paperback in most bookstores
Sample them for free here!
Family friendly love stories for free~
Exquisite Quills Holiday Anthology Vol. 1 Available free on Smashwords
Coming Monday December 1st
Exquisite Quills Holiday Anthology Vol. 2!
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I love your recipe, Rose! I would never have thought of baking custard in a pumpkin. What a fabulous idea. I can’t wait to try it out!
And the cover of the Holiday Anthology vol. two is lovely. (Rose created it – I told you she was multi-talented!) I can’t wait for release. I enjoyed the stories in volume one so much!
Have you ever baked a pumpkin in this way? Have you ever cooked over a real fire? If you’ve enjoyed Rose’s post, or have any questions or comments at all, please get in touch. We’d love to hear from you!
Helena Fairfax 
Thanks again for having me, Helena. If anyone stopping by today has questions, I’ll be on and off throughout the day to answer.
~Rose
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My mouth is watering over that recipe, Rose. It sounds absolutely delicious.
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If you like custard, Sandy, you’ll love this. I like it warm from baking, but it’s good cold too.
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Your dessert and romances are perfect for the Holidays. Thanks for sharing them, Rose.
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Thank you! And you’re welcome. :)
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Sounds delicious, Rose. Thanks for sharing.
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It’s delicious, Linda. And easy. Which makes it even more delicious. ;)
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Yummy recipe, Rose! I used to make pumpkin custard at this time of year and my sons loved it. I think your idea is even better.
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I’ll have to try that recipe, Rose. Thanks for sharing. You and yours have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
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I can’t imagine cooking something IN a pumpkin and I didn’t know that’s the way they did it in the “olden days.” Amazing.
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Thanks for all the great comments!
Rose, I agree this looks so easy to make – and yet delicious! And Jane, I had no idea you could bake inside a pumpkin, either, but what a great idea those colonials came up with. This is one recipe I’m really keen to try out.
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I know you’d find it yummy. Here’s a picture of what it looks like when it’s done. This recipe looks good too. The custard is made with coconut milk. http://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/Food/Stir-It-Up/2014/1030/Custard-in-a-pumpkin
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Oh, so that’s what it looks like! Thanks for the photo. I read the post, too, and the author is right that tinned pumpkin puree would be very hard to find in the UK. I have never had pumpkin pie, or even know what a sweet pumpkin looks like. Butternut squash is quite common here, though, especially in autumn, so I’ll try the recipe with one of those. Thanks for the great post!
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What a delightful recipe, Rose. I’ve always been a custard addict and my fondest memories of family events always had custard as part of the dessert course. I’ll have to try this American adaptation. Happy Thanksgiving to one and all, and bon appetit. Thanks, Helena, for all the amazing recipes this holiday season. They are definitely helping me get into the holiday spirit.
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I love custard, too, Gemma! It’s been great for me having all these recipes from the US, as most of them I’ve never tried before. I’m really looking forward to trying Rose’s. Thanks for coming by!
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Sounds yummy Rose! I love the idea of using the pumpkin to help cook it!
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I love to experience living history. My mom was an interpreter at Lincoln s New.Salem era 1830· 16 th president Abraham Lincoln. I love custard This recipe would be perfect for the Thanksgiving table!
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Sounds like your mum had a really interest job, JQ. I would have loved to have seen her. Thanks for coming by!
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Thanks again for hosting, Helena. And thank you all for stopping by.
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It’s been a pleasure, Rose. Happy Thanksgiving to you all!
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It pays sometimes to be late! Hey, Helena and nice to meet you, Rose. Love the picture of the custard in the pumpkin! What a unique presentation!
Admire you doing the reenactment stuff, Rose. I Couldn’t give up my indoor potties or other modern conveniences! Best to you with your writing. I’ll share this.
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Hi Marsha, and thanks for keeping the party going :) I’m with you on not being able to give up my conveniences. Maybe when I was younger, but these days I’d struggle. Thanks very much for coming by. I’m going to try out this recipe some time, and post a picture on Twitter and FB. Happy Thanksgiving!
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