Giving Thanks for a Non-Pie Pumpkin Dessert on Thanksgiving
I love all things pumpkin — except pie.
Forgive me my idiosyncrasy with this hallowed squash.
Many of you already know I won’t ever turn down pumpkin bread, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin muffins or any savory pumpkin dish. But if pumpkin pie comes to the table, I’d just as soon pass. I think I find it just too dense and one-dimensional.
Yet, I still enjoy the autumn taste of pumpkin and I know it rightfully deserves a place on the festive Thanksgiving table.
That’s why I’m always elated when I find a lovely pumpkin dessert recipe that is not pie.
“Crema di Zucca” or “Creamy Pumpkin Custard” stars pumpkin in the form of creamy, smooth individual puddings that get dolloped with whipped cream and boozy golden raisins.
The recipe is from one of my favorite cookbooks, “Dolce Italiano” (W.W. Norton & Co.) by Gina DePalma, pastry chef of Babbo restaurant in New York.
Cream cheese, mascarpone, and egg yolks give the batter luxuriousness and a fluffier texture than pumpkin pie filling. Pulverized crystallized ginger gives it a special little kick.
The golden raisin compote gets its sweet, grown-up taste from orange juice, sugar, butter and rum.
The custards bake in a water bath, then are chilled before serving.
The original recipe calls for chilling the custards for at least four hours, before inverting them onto individual plates. Try as I might after that allotted time, though, I couldn’t get my custards to release from the ramekins.
I conferred with DePalma via email, who noted that at the restaurant, they actually chill the custards overnight. She thought that might make them firmer and easier to remove from the ramekins.
So I waited overnight, and tried again. And what do you know — it worked this time. The custards were indeed firmer. I ran the tip of a knife around the edge of each custard, then let the ramekins sit in a bowl of very hot water for a few seconds, as DePalma also had suggested. Then I placed a small plate over a ramekin, turned it over, and gave it one big shake, which helped release the custard onto the plate. Voila!
