These Pumpkin Pie Custards aren’t new for most of you.
They may be a favorite, though!
I posted the recipe seven years ago. Can you believe that?
It seems crazy that I’ve had this site for that long. Some of you have been with me since my first blog – I started that in 2005. I’ve been in this vegan blogging sphere a long time.
I still enjoy it. Mostly because I enjoy sharing with you and having your readership. The ‘biz’ of blogging has never been my favorite part of things, as much as it’s necessary.
But, I love sharing the food with you, and hearing from you through comments, and also on social and email. It’s the best part of my work.
So, to share: Pumpkin Custards!
These custards are currently featured in BC Vegan Magazine, and the photos were taken by Anna Pelzer.
Her lovely photos inspired me to to freshen up this post!
These pumpkin custards are also in my Let Them Eat Vegan cookbook.
I have made these custards every year at Christmas. It’s become tradition, and our girls love them even more than pie.
I love them too, though I wouldn’t mind pairing with pumpkin ice cream. 🤣 #thatsme #allabouttheicecream
Now, you can make these custards without the brûlée topping, but it really is quite extraordinary! The crackly-caramelized topping against the creamy custard is just so delicious.
These pumpkin pie custards are absolutely perfect for Thanksgiving or Christmas, but also any time you’d like a special dessert during the fall or winter.
Enjoy the recipe! x Dreena
Pumpkin Pie Custards with Pumpkin Brulee
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup pumpkin puree pure pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling, packed (I use Farmer’s Market Organic brand)
- ½ cup raw cashews
- 1 ¼ cups plain unsweetened non-dairy milk almond or soy preferred, but choices is yours
- ½ cup unrefined sugar ex: coconut sugar
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 ¼ tsp agar powder
- 1 tsp arrowroot powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- Few pinches freshly ground nutmeg
- Pinch or two allspice
- Pinch or two ground cloves
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- Few teaspoons unrefined sugar for caramelized topping optional, see note
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Place 5 or 6 ramekins (This is the size/type I have, they are about 3 1/4" in diameter, and 2" deep, holding about 3/4 cup) in an 8 by 11-inch glass baking dish. Bring roughly 3 cups of water to a boil in a kettle. Meanwhile, in a blender (I use my rambo blender (aka Blendtec), it really is worth investing in for exceptional plant-powered recipes), combine all the ingredients (except the sugar for topping) and puree until very, very smooth. (I use a Blendtec; if you don’t have a high-powered blender, you will need to blend for a longer time, and scrape down the sides of the bowl a couple of times.) Pour the boiled water into the baking dish to surround the ramekins (but don’t get any water in the ramekins). Then pour the pureed pumpkin mixture evenly into each ramekin. If using six ramekins (mine are 3 inches in diameter—from the inside—and almost 2 inches deep), they will be about two-thirds full; if using five, they will be just about completely full. Carefully place the baking dish into the oven. Bake for 32 to 34 minutes, until the custards are set around the edges but a touch looser in the center. Carefully remove the baking dish from the oven and let cool slightly until you can safely remove and transfer each custard to a cooling rack. Let cool a little more. The custards are best still a little warm, but can also be served chilled.
Notes
photo credit: Anna Pelzer
What’s your favorite Thanksgiving dessert?
El Hogar de Luci Animal Sanctuary says
We are a Spanish Animal Sanctuary placed in Madrid and We’ve just shared your recipe! Thanks for sharing it with all of us! You can check it out on our Facebook English Page: https://www.facebook.com/School.Sanctuary.EHL or you can also visit our web site: http://www.elhogardeluci.org (although its not already translated into english, we’re working on it!)THANK YOU! =)
Laurel says
I’ve made this recipe twice now, once in a 9″ tart shell with pressed in crumb crust and once in a greased cake pan and no crust. I just cut it into slices and have a quick meal no matter how busy I am. I’m making it again this weekend. 😉 thanks
Alisha S. says
Hi, Dreena,
I made this recipe for pumpkin pie custards with brulee topping this past week for my family’s vegan Thanksgiving celebration. It was a HUGE hit! Everyone loved it, even the 5 who aren’t vegan and my husband’s little brother who is VERY picky. 😀 Thank you SO much for this fantastic recipe and for the great directions!
I wasn’t able to find agar agar, so I used low-sugar fruit pectin, substituted 1-for-1 for the agar agar. I think next time I make this (there WILL be a next time – it was that good!) I will use more fruit pectin, as the custard didn’t set with the amount of pectin I used (or I didn’t bake it long enough… I only had 4 ramekins and was making a triple quantity, so I had to use larger Corningware dishes). It was still delicious in spite of being very soft (kind of like a thick pudding). Anyway, I used sucanat sugar in the custard and raw cane sugar for the brulee topping, and used my propane torch to brulee the sugar (I don’t have a brulee torch, and my Corningware dishes are not broiler-safe). The sucanat worked perfectly in this recipe and the propane torch worked just fine for doing the brulee topping.
Anyway, thank you again SO much for this fantastic recipe! I think one of your books is next on my vegan-cookbook wishlist! I look forward to trying more recipes from your blog in the meantime. 🙂
~Alisha S.
Dreena says
That’s awesome Alisha!! Thank you so much for the feedback, and sounds like you have some savvy recipe skills being able to modify some things and it still turning out wonderfully. 🙂 You are most welcome, it delights me to read this kind of thing. Happy holidays! 🙂
Cassandra says
Of course, as I’m reading this post, I’m saying to myself, ooh, pumpkin, but what I’m really thinking is NEW DREENA BOOK! I already can’t wait!
Dreena says
ha, yes, Cassandra I think it’s inevitable isn’t it?? 😉 thanks a bunch!
Kimberly says
Hello,
I have a child with a tree nut allergy, so I cannot use the cashews in this recipe. What is their function in the recipe and could I use pumpkin or some other seed instead?
THank you for all your posts. You have made being vegan and proving that vegans actually eat more than salad so much easier!
Dreena says
Thanks Kimberly. The cashews serve to thicken this custard, and also give some whole-foods fat for flavor/texture. I don’t have a substitute to suggest this time round, I’d have to test something out as I cannot imagine using a seed butter (too bitter), and not sure if another substitute like rolled oats would be able to pull off the overall flavor/texture. I’ll have other pumpkin recipes coming up – a pumpkin chia pudding this week (that is nut-free)!
Rose says
you could try sunflower seeds that have been soaked overnight. i’ve used that as a replacement for cashews in a pinch and had it work.
heather says
wouldn’t tofu be ok?
Maggie says
Did anyone have any luck with the substitution here? I need a nut free (need it to be fat free)substitution as well. Thanks!