Butternut Squash Custard

Our good friend, Chuck Voigt, brought us an assortment of squash he'd grown in his Illinois garden some time back. We've enjoyed some of them baked, but recently Josh has been making one of my favorite desserts - Squash Custard. I asked him to share his recipe here. You can use butternut, acorn or delicata - any small, winter squash.

Josh begins by splitting the squash in half, removing the seeds, then putting the squash in a baking dish with about 2 cups of water, covers it with foil, then bakes it until it's soft. He uses about half of the squash, peeled and mashed for the recipe. We cook with Truvia, the stevia-sugar blend instead of regular sugar to cut down on calories and sugar. It tastes the same but better for diabetics and anyone watching their calories.

Ingredients for Squash Custard

Mixing the scalded milk into the other ingredients.

 

Squash Custard Pudding

3 cups milk
4 large eggs
1 cup cooked squash
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup sugar (or Truvia, the sugar/stevia blend)
Freshly grated nutmeg


1 - Scald milk in the microwave, using a glass quart measure (approx. 4 to 5 minutes).

2 - While the milk is heating, beat together well: eggs, squash, salt, vanilla and sugar.

3 - Briskly whisk in scalded milk, to maintain a good froth.

4 - Pour mixture into a baking dish or glass bread pan and top with plenty of freshly ground nutmeg.

5 - Place the baking dish in a shallow pan of hot water and bake 45 minutes at 350 degrees F., or until a knife comes out clean when inserted in the middle.

Tips: Custard puddings are very forgiving. You can bake an hour at 325 or half an hour at 375 degrees F.
The frothy mixture topped with ground nutmeg is what gives custard puddings the golden skin we custard lovers adore.

The finished custard, tasty hot or cold!

And a dish of perfect squash custard!