Now I want to cook with the other pumpkin I bought at a farmer's market. The vendors said this would be such a sweet pumpkin and I was hoping they were right.
I decided to try it with a custard inside, studded with fruit and nuts.
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| I decided not to use the cream |
Ingredients
1 pumpkin, washed and rinsed
12 ounces half-and-half
3 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/2 ounces sour cherries, coarsely chopped
1/4 ounce slivered almonds, chopped
My Notes
Before I knew how much half-and-half and eggs to use, I had to prepare and measure the pumpkin.
I cut off the top, putting the knife in at a slant, to make a lid and to leave as much of a bowl-like interior as I could. Then I scraped out the seeds and strings from the inside and off the bottom of the lid.
When I rinsed the inside of the pumpkin, I filled it with water and measure how much it comfortably held. It seemed like 15 ounces was about right, so I planned on a total of 18 ounces to work with Ruhlman's ratio: 12 ounces of half-and-half with 3 large (so 6 ounces) eggs. I knew that could overfill it but I didn't worry about it.
I just guessed on the amount of sugar, extract, cherries, and nuts. I wanted it mildly sweet and I thought the extract would compliment the cherries more than vanilla extract would.
Ruhlman suggested putting the half-and-half, eggs, sugar, and extract into some sort of blending device to make it smooth. I used a stick blender. I put the pumpkin into my Dutch oven.
Then I poured the custard mix into the pumpkin and stirred in the cherries and nuts. This made the pumpkin very full so I put the lid on the side instead of on top. Then I poured boiling water around the pumpkin, put the lid on the Dutch oven, and put the whole thing in a preheated 325 degree F oven.
After one hour, I took the lid off the Dutch oven to let the custard finish baking. I notice the custard had risen and occasionally leaked out over the edge of the pumpkin bowl but I didn't worry about it.
It took another hour before I felt the custard had set enough to remove from the oven. It wasn't entirely firm and I saw a lot of liquid around it, which I assumed was from the pumpkin itself.
I used two slotted spoons to remove the pumpkin from the baking pan and placed it in a bowl.
I then covered it with plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator overnight.
The Verdict
The next day I tasted it. The custard was firm, the pumpkin was tender, and the whole thing sliced beautifully. It all stayed together when moving a slice to a plate for serving.
As I had expected, the cherries and nuts were mostly on the surface, but there was enough of them that it was easy to get a bite of them even when scooping up custard from deep in the pumpkin bowl.
And the flavor?
First, the custard was just right. Creamy, smooth, lightly sweet. I couldn't taste the almond extract but that was okay by me. The cherries weren't as sour as they were uncooked but still flavorful and added a nice bright sparkle of flavor to the mild custard. The almonds did exactly what I wanted: they were a bit of crunch that was much needed to balance the texture.
The pumpkin was absolutely the best, sweetest pumpkin I have ever eaten. No bitterness, sweet without being cloying, tender and smooth. Even the rind was tender and easy to eat. It worked so well with the custard that each mouthful was a pleasure.
Oh my, Success!
I am saving the seeds in hopes of growing more of these pumpkins. I wish I could remember what the vendors at the farmers market had called the variety! I've done more reading on tasty pumpkins and I wonder if this is the variety called "Cinderella's Carriage." It looks a lot like the description and it is soooooooo tasty.
I wish more farmers grew this pumpkin. It could start a trend for pumpkin-eating! Like the nursery rhyme: Peter, Peter, Pumpkin-Eater!
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