{"id":2797,"date":"2014-10-24T14:11:26","date_gmt":"2014-10-24T18:11:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/picklesandtea\/?p=2797"},"modified":"2014-10-29T09:51:07","modified_gmt":"2014-10-29T13:51:07","slug":"custard-in-a-pumpkin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/picklesandtea\/custard-in-a-pumpkin\/","title":{"rendered":"Custard-in-a-Pumpkin"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Cute<\/a>

The sugar pumpkin (also called sugar pie pumpkin and pumpkin pie squash) is a cuter, more compact version of Cinderella’s pumpkin. It’s sweeter than carving pumpkins, making it perfect for roasting and pies!<\/p><\/div>\n

Before I moved to the U.S. as a college student some 20 years ago, my only knowledge of the\u00a0ubiquitous fall fruit (or is it a vegetable?), the orange, ribbed pumpkin (cucurbita pepo<\/em>), was from Disney\u2019s \u201cCinderella.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yes, as a little girl, I thought all pumpkins turned into horse-drawn carriages at the wave of a wand.<\/p>\n

During my first American Thanksgiving, I got to know pumpkin pie and in later years, was introduced to pumpkin pie lattes (thank you, Starbucks!). Though pumpkin pie wasn\u2019t, and still isn\u2019t, a favorite, my husband\u2019s infectious enthusiasm for the pie won me over.<\/p>\n

I can still remember the first time my husband–who was then my boyfriend–made it for me from scratch, crust and all, using his friend\u2019s mom\u2019s recipe. He was so excited and so proud of himself, I couldn\u2019t not enjoy it. Especially when topped with a blizzard\u2019s worth of freshly whipped cream. These days, I\u2019m the one who makes the pumpkin pie, thanking my lucky stars for canned pumpkin puree and frozen pie crust.<\/p>\n

Then, there was the one time we were living in England and nary a can of pumpkin puree was in sight. I actually roasted a whole pumpkin and scraped out its flesh for puree. Never again.<\/p>\n

Since my first encounter with cucurbita pepo<\/em>, I have expanded my pumpkin repertoire. I\u2019ve come to embrace kabocha<\/a>, kuri, sugar pie and dumpling. And when I’m assailed by pumpkins\u00a0from\u00a0all directions and don\u2019t feel like making pumpkin pie, I\u2019ll make this Cambodian-style pumpkin custard that Phiroum Svy taught me.<\/p>\n

Perhaps you’d like to try it too?<\/p>\n

~~~<\/p>\n

This is my last post celebrating <\/em>The Asian Grandmother Cookbook<\/a>‘s 5th Birthday. Don\u2019t forget to enter the double book giveaway for my cookbook<\/em>\u00a0and <\/em>Mastering the Art of French Eating<\/a> by Ann Mah<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

You have until\u00a0Friday, October 31st to enter\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

~~~<\/p>\n

Pumpkin Custard (Num Sang Khya L\u2019peou)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Adapted from The Asian Grandmothers Cookbook<\/em> (Pg. 316)<\/p>\n

\"pumpkin<\/a><\/p>\n

Hollowed-out pumpkins are filled with coconut custard in this delightful dessert that Phiroum Svy learned how to make from her grandma in Cambodia. When the pumpkin is cut, each wedge shows off the creamy yellow custard contrasting beautifully with the orange pumpkin flesh. Traditionally, larger pumpkins are used but Phiroum prefers to use cute little sugar pumpkins for individual servings. Instead of steaming the pumpkin as in the book, I decided to bake it in a water bath. The pie pumpkin I used was 1-3\/4 pounds.<\/p>\n

Time: 1 hour 30 minutes (15 minutes active)
\nMakes: 4 to 8 servings<\/p>\n

One (1-1\/2 to 2-pound) pie or sugar pumpkin
\n3\/4 cup coconut milk
\n1\/2 cup organic sugar
\n3 eggs<\/p>\n

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Position the rack in the lower 1\/3 of your oven.<\/p>\n

Wipe the pumpkin with a damp cloth to remove any dust or dirt. Slice the top off the pumpkin straight across. You may have to cut out some pumpkin flesh to expose the cavity. Scrape out the seeds and stringy bits with a spoon. Save the seeds for toasting if you wish.<\/p>\n

In a medium bowl, whisk the coconut milk and sugar together. Crack the eggs into the bowl and whisk until just incorporated.<\/p>\n

Prepare a water bath by placing a lightly oiled\u00a0pie plate in a metal baking or roasting pan with sides at least 1-inch high. Put the pumpkin in the pie plate. Using a ladle, carefully pour the custard into the pumpkin cavity to only about three-quarters full (since the custard will rise and pouf up). If you spill custard over the sides of the pumpkins, wipe clean with a damp cloth. Pour water into the baking pan until it reaches about 1\/2 to 1-inch, depending on your pan. Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes, or until the custard is set, i.e. it doesn\u2019t jiggle when shaken and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.<\/p>\n

Carefully remove the pumpkin from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature. It will be quite fragile, so don\u2019t move it until cooled. Refrigerate for 10 to 12 hours to let the custard set even further. The custard will fall a little but don\u2019t fret!<\/p>\n

Cut the pumpkin into 4 to 8 wedges, depending on how hungry your guests are, and serve cold or warm (heat it up in the microwave). Use a spoon to scoop up some pumpkin flesh together with the custard, making sure you get a little of each with every bite.<\/p>\n

Pat\u2019s Notes: You\u2019ll probably have extra custard. Pour excess into a ramekin and microwave on medium for 2 to 3 minutes. Start checking at the 2 minute mark.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Before I moved to the U.S. as a college student some 20 years ago, my only knowledge of the\u00a0ubiquitous fall fruit (or is it a vegetable?), the orange, ribbed pumpkin (cucurbita pepo), was from Disney\u2019s \u201cCinderella.\u201d Yes, as a little girl, I thought all pumpkins…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2801,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,109,415,14,58],"tags":[27,581,582,174,580],"class_list":["post-2797","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cambodian","category-celebrations","category-kid-friendly-2","category-sweets-desserts","category-thai","tag-cambodian-recipe","tag-coconut-custard","tag-custard-dessert","tag-pumpkin-custard","tag-pumpkin-dessert"],"yoast_head":"\nCustard-in-a-Pumpkin - Pickles and Tea<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/picklesandtea\/custard-in-a-pumpkin\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Custard-in-a-Pumpkin - Pickles and Tea\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Before I moved to the U.S. as a college student some 20 years ago, my only knowledge of the\u00a0ubiquitous fall fruit (or is it a vegetable?), the orange, ribbed pumpkin (cucurbita pepo), was from Disney\u2019s \u201cCinderella.\u201d Yes, as a little girl, I thought all pumpkins...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/picklesandtea\/custard-in-a-pumpkin\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pickles and Tea\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-10-24T18:11:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-10-29T13:51:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/picklesandtea\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2014\/10\/pumpkin-custard.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"533\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@SmithsonianAPA\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Custard-in-a-Pumpkin - Pickles and Tea","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/picklesandtea\/custard-in-a-pumpkin\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Custard-in-a-Pumpkin - Pickles and Tea","og_description":"Before I moved to the U.S. as a college student some 20 years ago, my only knowledge of the\u00a0ubiquitous fall fruit (or is it a vegetable?), the orange, ribbed pumpkin (cucurbita pepo), was from Disney\u2019s \u201cCinderella.\u201d Yes, as a little girl, I thought all pumpkins...","og_url":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/picklesandtea\/custard-in-a-pumpkin\/","og_site_name":"Pickles and Tea","article_published_time":"2014-10-24T18:11:26+00:00","article_modified_time":"2014-10-29T13:51:07+00:00","og_image":[{"width":800,"height":533,"url":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/picklesandtea\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2014\/10\/pumpkin-custard.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@SmithsonianAPA","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/picklesandtea\/custard-in-a-pumpkin\/","url":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/picklesandtea\/custard-in-a-pumpkin\/","name":"Custard-in-a-Pumpkin - Pickles and Tea","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/picklesandtea\/#website"},"datePublished":"2014-10-24T18:11:26+00:00","dateModified":"2014-10-29T13:51:07+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/picklesandtea\/#\/schema\/person\/a00f6dcfcb279c75f3f992ad2919d51d"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/picklesandtea\/custard-in-a-pumpkin\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/picklesandtea\/custard-in-a-pumpkin\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/picklesandtea\/custard-in-a-pumpkin\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/picklesandtea\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Custard-in-a-Pumpkin"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/picklesandtea\/#website","url":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/picklesandtea\/","name":"Pickles and Tea","description":"Adventures in Asian American Cooking","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/picklesandtea\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/picklesandtea\/#\/schema\/person\/a00f6dcfcb279c75f3f992ad2919d51d","name":"Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/picklesandtea\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/79b5f08575e8962bd00388cd126d374b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/79b5f08575e8962bd00388cd126d374b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/twitter.com\/@SmithsonianAPA"],"url":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/picklesandtea\/author\/riemert\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/picklesandtea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2797"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/picklesandtea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/picklesandtea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/picklesandtea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/picklesandtea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2797"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/picklesandtea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2797\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2812,"href":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/picklesandtea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2797\/revisions\/2812"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/picklesandtea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2801"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/picklesandtea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2797"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/picklesandtea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2797"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/picklesandtea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2797"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}