The Most Incredible Pumpkin Custard: Easy and Elegant Holiday Dessert

This pumpkin custard is so flavorful, aromatic, and silky smooth, you won’t believe it only takes about five minutes to mix up. Truly one of the best-kept secrets in dessert, if you ask me.

If you’re looking for a gluten-free alternative to pumpkin pie for this upcoming holiday season, you are going to be so thrilled when you try this pumpkin custard recipe. This recipe is so easy to whip up, much quicker than making a traditional pie, but feels a little extra special and even a little fancy when it’s served in cute individual ramekin dishes. The other great thing about making pumpkin custard instead of a pumpkin pie is that it’s perfect for all those picky eaters who always try to avoid the crust anyway. Even though I just used canned pumpkin for this recipe, I really thought it was so much more flavorful than store-bought pumpkin pie. Definitely give this one a try if you need a quick, seasonal dessert for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or any cozy season gathering.

If you need a vegan, dairy-free pumpkin dessert: Perfect Plant-Based Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients Needed for the Pumpkin Custard

This is such a lovely, aromatic dessert that will fill your home with the scent of autumn. Although this can easily be made ahead, you may want to have it baking away during a gathering just because of how wonderful it will make your home smell.

You’ll need:

• Canned pumpkin puree
• Half and half 10% cream
• Eggs
• Pumpkin pie spice (you can make your own using my recipe here)
• Brown sugar
• Vanilla extract

You’ll see on the full recipe card below that this recipe calls for a large can (796ml) of pumpkin puree. If you’d like to the smaller can instead, you can definitely cut all the other ingredients in this recipe in half. Feel free to bump up the vanilla extract in the recipe card below from one teaspoon to one tablespoon if you love vanilla like I do.

Baking tips to make life easier: Homemade Brown Sugar Substitute for When You Run Out

Method for Preparing Easy Pumpkin Custard

The preparation method for putting this custard together is so simple. It couldn’t be easier, really, and this is the beauty of this recipe.

Prepare your baking dishes first by gathering up your ramekins, as well as larger baking dishes to set them into for a water bath. I used 9×13 glass casserole dishes for this purpose and they worked perfectly.

In a large mixing bowl, combine all your ingredients and whisk them together vigorously until everything comes together in a smooth, even mixture.

Next you’ll want to pour or ladle your custard mix into your ramekins, filling them up almost all the way, leaving about a half-inch of space at the top.

Place your filled ramekins into your baking dishes and fill each baking dish with about one inch of water to create your water bath. Feel free to call it a “Bain Marie” if you’re feeling fancy. 🙂

For your leftover pumpkin puree: Healthy 3-Minute Pumpkin Fudge

Bake for about an hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the custard comes out clean.

After cooling on a wire rack, store your custard in the refrigerator for up to a week.

These custards can be served warm, chilled, or reheated, and they’re always delicious. Top them with a little bit of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream with a sprinkling of cinnamon. A few toasted pecans and some brown sugar would also be really decadent if you want to make this delicious dessert even more irresistible.

Don’t forget to pin this recipe on Pinterest so you have it when you’re ready to make it!

Here’s the full printable recipe. Use this recipe card on your phone or tablet, or print it out to store it in your recipe binder.

 

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