My friend Ronnie, of the Monhegan Island Farm Project, recently shared this recipe. He found it in a cookbook that says “this dish was a favorite of George Washington”. This sentiment played favorably on my inclination for eating traditional, whole foods. I also like the recipe because it provides the need for a sweet dessert without empty calories. This dish is nutritious and delicious. I eat it for breakfast or dessert. Really anytime is good.
What you need:
1 pie pumpkin (this type is sweeter than other pumpkins; do not use jack o’ lantern pumpkins)5-7 lbs.
6 whole eggs
2 cups whipping cream
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 TBSP molasses
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg, a little less if dried ground
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
2 TBSP butter
Procedure:
Cut the lid off the pumpkin, just as if you were carving a jack o’ lantern. Remove the seeds and reserve for roasting.
Mix the remaining ingredients (except the butter) together.
Fill the pumpkin with this mixture and top with the butter.
Cover with the pumpkin lid and place in a baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 1-1 1/2 hours, or until the mixture has set like a custard. (mine took closer to 2 hours, the custard will still be a little loose in the center and that will firm up as it sits for a bit to cool)
Serve from the pumpkin, scraping some of the meat from pumpkin with each serving.
This is a low-glycemic, low-sugar dessert that satisfies.