Perfect Pumpkin Custard

When I posted a pumpkin custard recipe a week ago I said I didn't have time to refine it any further. Well, I lied. My in-laws have come to visit and so I took the recipe for another spin. Further research on the interwebs revealed a recipe by Bryanna that used corn flour to thicken the custard and give it colour. I gave this a try and I also revised the method to make the whole thing easier.

INGREDIENTS

Makes 4 custard cups

- 1/2 cup sugar

- 1/2 tsp cinnamon

- 1/4 tsp nutmeg

- 1/4 tsp ground ginger

- 2 cups plain soy milk

- 1 tbsp agar agar flakes

- 2/3 cup sugar

- 1/2 cup coconut cream

- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree

- 1 tsp vanilla

- 1 1/2 tbsp arrowroot

- 1 tbsp corn flour

METHOD

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Get a kettle of water boiling.

1. Grease 4 ramekins (with 1 cup capacity).

2. Place sugar in a saucepan over med-lo heat. While sugar is heating, mix soy milk and sugar in a saucepan and sprinkle agar overtop. Without stirring, heat sugar until it caramelizes (turns brown and liquefies). Shake pan to melt all the sugar. Add spices, quickly stir in, then quickly pour 1/4 of mixture into each ramekin to coat the bottom. Set ramekins aside.

3. Heat soy milk and sugar over medium heat. Bring to bubbling, stirring constantly, until agar is fully dissolved. Set aside. Whisk together coconut cream, pumpkin puree, arrowroot, corn flour, and vanilla. Whisk pumpkin mixture into the soy milk mixture until smooth. Pour into the four ramekins.

4. Place ramekins in a 9 x 13 pan, and fill pan with boiling water, no more than 1/3 the way up the ramekins. Bake in the oven for 40-45 mins, until top has browned and center has set.

5. Cool in the fridge until custard has fully set.

This recipe yields a more delicate custard than the first recipe. I found it tasted best at room temperature, but that it needed to fully cool (and get cold) to be able to hold its shape when inverted out of the ramekin. You may just want to skip the inverting part and serve it straight out of the ramekin itself.