Simple Pumpkin Pie Custard
All the flavor of pumpkin pie without the work! This simple pumpkin pie custard comes together quickly and is baked in a water bath until creamy and smooth.
This custard is the perfect thing to make if you’ve been craving pumpkin pie lately, but didn’t want all the fuss and time spent making a homemade crust. It is also a lot lighter and healthier! Don’t get me wrong, I love a great pie crust, but I completely forgot about the importance of crust when I was eating this.
While it takes almost no time to put together, it does take a long time to bake custard in the oven. Be prepared for it to take the full cooking time, unlike me, who kept flicking the oven light on and off impatiently. I also made this at night around 10:30 pm, which I wouldn’t recommend.
Grab a spoon and dig in!
This was comfort food at its very best. I actually recommend doubling the recipe, because they will disappear incredibly quickly. I can’t wait to make more of these over the Thanksgiving holidays!
Simple Pumpkin Pie Custard
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons (45 mL) pure maple syrup divided
- 1 large egg
- 1½ large egg whites about 1½ ounces
- 2½ tablespoons (30 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (120 g) canned pumpkin puree
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 heaping teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup (120 mL) whole or low-fat milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F (160°C) with a rack in the center position. Set aside 3 (5-ounce) ramekins. Pour 1 tablespoon of maple syrup into each, swirling the ramekins so that the maple syrup covers the entire bottom.
- Whisk together egg, egg whites, and sugar. Add pumpkin, vanilla extract, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. Gently whisk in the milk. Distribute evenly into the ramekins.
- Place the ramekins in a oven-proof baking pan and carefully add boiling hot water to the pan, to create a water bath, until the water level reaches ¼ up the sides of the ramekins.
- Transfer to the oven carefully and bake for 60 to 70 minutes, or until the middle of the custard is set and does not wiggle when lightly tapped. Transfer to a rack to cool. Enjoy lukewarm or chilled from the refrigerator.
25 Comments on “Simple Pumpkin Pie Custard”
Thanks Kristin! Haha. This is one of my favorite recipes on the blog–and it really is very healthy and full of protein/fiber. It is so good! I almost prefer it to the pie crust version 🙂
Let me know if you try it out!
[…] #1: Simple Pumpkin Pie Custard […]
Thanks Evan! I wholeheartedly agree with that statement 😉
This sounds delicious! I will take pumpkin any which way this time of year
[…] Laura: Pumpkin Pie Custard […]
That really sounds amazing!
Thank you!! I’m so glad you posted this challenge, it was a lot of fun. Can’t wait to see what everyone else came up with 😉
<3 Laura
Really?! This would be perfect, because you get that pumpkin pie craving satisfied, but don’t end up stuffed. Let me know if you try it! Thanks for visiting 🙂
<3 Laura
You hate pies?!?! I don’t think we can be friends anymore. Kidding! I actually like making crusts too, but sometimes I get lazy. Love the comment about your parents, they might deserve crust every now and then 😉
It was worth it in the end! But I kept wanting to try them 😉
My sister is a HUGE pumpkin pie fan but always leaves the crust. This recipe would be just perfect for her!! 🙂
Looks make that “this sounds delicious”…I couldn’t resist correcting my own typo 🙂
These sounds delicious! I think the 60 – 70 minute wait would be well worth it 🙂
I think if I were to ever make that, I’d dump a whole bunch of sugar on top and brulee it 🙂 haha way to make it healthy, Monique 🙂
Good luck on the GRE!!! I didn’t find it all that complicated, the math was pretty easy (says the English major who passed out of math/science in college haha oops). But seriously, good luck! You’ll do GRE-at. bad pun.
Ugh! I’m so frustrated, I took it today and found out my scores within like 20 seconds of it being over, but for some reason, I didn’t do nearly as well in either section as I had been during studying. Oh well, at least I don’t need to retake it.
Brulee sounds awesome! Didn’t you see my bad pun title? Haha
<3 Laura
Oh perfect for this time of year. Love the individual idea, those that want cream can have and people like me don’t have to have it.
I didn’t grow up celebrating Thanksgiving, and I hate pies, so I don’t really have a fave Thanksgiving dessert. But the weird thing is, I LOVE making pies…they are so…relaxing. And the making of the crust is my fave part! I think I’ll make this some day for my parents, though. They really don’t need that crust. 😉
So glad you like it (and can eat it)! 🙂 Let me know what you think of the recipe, if you make it.
<3 Laura
Totally delicious looking and GLUTEN FREE! I must make these over Thanksgiving 🙂
I just made another one of these custards last weekend, but it was much richer with cream and whole eggs – although I still felt pretty good (healthwise) about the fact it was missing a crust. Tempted to try this lighter version!
Oh really? This one does have one whole egg, but the rest are whites. The skim milk lightens it up a lot and I promise you won’t miss the cream. My only regret was that I should have made more of them, hehe.
<3 Laura
The maple syrup compensates for it! Almost like flan. Sweetened almond milk, right? I haven’t tried it with that, but maybe you should cut it down to a little under two tablespoons. That might be a good compromise. Let me know how it works out!
PS. Double it! 🙂
this sounds amazing! I can’t believe how little sugar there is in it. I can’t wait to try this! I don’t even reallyl ike pie crust so this will be perfect! Do you think if I used almond milk I should cut back on the sugar?
I love this idea of a crustless pumpkin pie. I’m currently trying to write a magazine article for “healthy” holiday desserts and so far I’ve come up clueless (I guess I like my butter and heavy cream too much?). This might just be just the place to start. I bet it’s amazing too, isn’t it? I’m such a sucker for pumpkin pie.
Those look really good. Especially since I usually only get the pumpkin pie taste on Thanksgiving. 🙂
I hope your test went well!