What do you think of when you think of November? Autumn? Leaves changing (well, maybe not so much in Southern California)? Changing your clocks back? Or….FOOD?
With the rainy weather we’ve been experiencing and the unbearable dip in temperature (I’m talking low 60s here, people!!), I thought today would be a great day for baking. (Having gutted a huge Halloween pumpkin and being the proud new owner of ??lbs of pumpkin puree is also a good motivator for baking, too.)
Because I recently gave up gluten, I’ve been looking for recipes online and was lucky enough to find one that, when tweaked slightly, was gluten-free, casein-free, and soy-free! It helps too that it is incredibly easy and fast (10 mins. prep and 35 mins to bake).
So throw some good ol’ It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown! into your VCR (my what?), press play, tell your dog to stay out of the kitchen, and get cooking!
Here’s what you’ll need to make Pumpkin Spice Pudding:
- 15 oz fresh or canned pumpkin puree (do not use pumpkin pie filling.)
- 3/4 cup rice milk (you can use other non dairy milks, but in the interest of keeping the recipe GFCFSF, I chose rice milk)
- 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger
- 1/4 heaping teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- a pinch of salt
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil four 6-oz custard cups (I had to use two small custard cups and one larger custard cup, which worked fine) and set aside.
rice milk
brown sugar
spices
Combine all of your ingredients in a small mixing bowl. Be careful to not let your cornstarch clump! Mix ingredients together, either vigorously by hand with a whisk or with a hand mixer. I used a hand mixer because my homemade pumpkin puree was a bit clumpy still, but a whisk has worked for me in the past when I used canned pumpkin. Distribute mixture evenly into the custard cups.
pour it into cups
Prepare a water bath for your custard cups (that is, place the custard cups in a larger baking dish or roasting pan and fill the pan with water until the water reaches halfway up the outside of the cups).
water bath in oven
Place the baking dish or pan into the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes or until the top of the pudding is a golden brown. This can be served warm OR chilled! I couldn’t wait to eat it so I had mine warm…I’ll save one in the fridge and eat it chilled tomorrow, or whenever the temperatures reach the 70s again (should be around Wednesday)!! ENJOY! 
