Spiced With Cinnamon, Cloves & Ginger . . .
This pumpkin custard is the fall edition of our beloved coconut custard, a deeply satisfying staple in our home. Rich and subtly sweet, this dish also contains immune boosting marrow, wholesome fats, protein, calcium, iron, zinc, phosphorous, B-Vitamins, Vitamin K and Vitamin A.
If you love pumpkin pie but are looking for something a little different this year, grab a spoon, a cup of chai, and give this recipe a whirl. Gorgeous view of changing leaves swirling in the wind optional but recommended. 🙂
Pumpkin Spice Custard With Marrow Infusion
Ingredients
- 1 small pie pumpkin
- 6 pastured eggs
- ½ cup grass-fed beef bone marrow (about 2 lbs of bones)
- ¾ cups coconut milk (substitute raw milk or cream for a decadent texture - raw cream is not readily available in my area, but fortunately the marrow imparts a similar quality)
- 1 tbsp homemade pumpkin pie spice (or 2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tsp ground ginger, and 1/4 tsp ground cloves)
- ½ tsp unrefined sea salt
- ½ - ¾ cup maple syrup or raw honey (to taste)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Cut -pumpkin in half and scoop out seeds.
- Place pumpkin halves cut side down in a baking dish and add 1/4 inch water. Remove from the oven when you can easily pierce the shell with a fork (about 45 minutes - 1 hour)
- While the pumpkin is baking, bring marrow bones to a boil and let simmer for 10 minutes. When the marrow is ready, scoop the bones out with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl to drain. After they've cooled a bit use a butter knife to extract the marrow. Place it in a small bowl.
- Spoon marrow - but not the oil that has collected at the bottom of the bowl - in with the eggs, milk/coconut milk, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, salt and honey. Puree until smooth.
- When the pumpkin is cooked through, scoop out the flesh and add it to the egg mixture. Blend until smooth.
- Place mixture in ramekins or a large oven-safe dish and bake at 375. Custard placed in small ramekins should be ready in about 35-45 minutes. Large casserole dishes take about 45-minutes to an hour. Watch carefully and remove when it is set in the center.
- Serve with whipped cream if desired.
Nutrition
More Delicious Pumpkin Goodness
- Easy Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal With Vanilla Glaze – Infused with warming spices, sweetened with pure maple syrup, and drizzled with vanilla glaze, this baked pumpkin oatmeal is easy to make and so satisfying.
- Pumpkin Spice Latte – Pumpkin is basically the official flavor of fall, and who are we to argue with that? This recipe is one of my favorite ways to enjoy it.
- Pumpkin Spice Granola – If you miss breakfast cereal, this easy granola is delicious with milk, almond milk, or oat milk. It also makes a great on-the-go snack.
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Sunny
Yum! (Check your instructions, both #5 and #6 start with the same sentence. You can delete this comment when you fix it. 🙂
Heather
Whoops! Thanks for catching that, Sunny! I’ve corrected it but I’m leaving the comment to remind me how awesome my readers are 🙂
Christa
Hi there! I really enjoy reading your blog. I was wondering if the little bookmark thingy could be moved though. It is hard to read with it in the way. I’ve tried “liking” and such but it doesn’t go away when I do. Maybe putting it on the right side of the page? Thanks for sharing all of the great information that you have discovered:)
Heather
Hi Christa! It should be on the far left side out of the way, so it sounds like it’s not playing nice with the browser/phone you’re using. Can you tell me what you’re viewing it on so I can troubleshoot?
lexy
I’m having the same problem. I’m using mozilla firefox and it’s right in the way…
Heather
Hi Lexy! Do you have the browser minimized or resized on your screen? Or maybe you are using an older version? I really, REALLY want to fix this for you! I actually took it down for awhile but got so many complaints from folk who liked having it there that I put it back up!
Jana
I’ve been having the same problem for a while now! I’m using Firefox also, and usually am running the latest version. Hope someone can figure it out!
Leanne
I’m using firefox and got it to finally go into the margins by maximizing my screen – otherwise it is in the way.
Lauren @ Empowered Sustenance
I loved your Sweet Bone Marrow Custard recipe you shared on Nourished Kitchen. That was my first time using bone marrow! I can’t wait to make this variation… it sounds perfect for fall.
Sarah
HiHi! How do you do the marrow thing? what kinds of bones and then you just scoop out the inside after boiled? I’ve never considered eating marrow but know the dogs loves it!!!!
Thanks
Heather
Hi Sarah! You just boil some beef marrow bones and then scoop out the center when it’s soft. Easy peasy!
Ashley H
Can you use the marrow left in the bones after making beef stock, or have all the nutrients been leached out by that point? Thanks!
Sarah Campbell
This sounds delicious – can you post a video or explain more about how to use the bone marrow. Thank you so much!
Heather
It’s very, very simple. Once they’re boiled the marrow practically slides out.
annie
I was wondering that, too. Ia it the same as a beef soup bone? Seems like you have something else in mind.
Sarah
Ok sounds simple but what are beef marrow bones? Do you buy them specially? All we eat is steak so i dont know what kind of beef i would need to buy! Sorry for the stupid question!
Leah
Marrow bones are usually the long bones.. think femur bones. or if you make osso bucco thats marrow in the bone of the roast. you can ask your butcher for “Marrow” bones as opposed to knuckle bones which have a lot more yummy cartilage for thick gelatinous broth. But when in doubt look for femur bones. Hope that helps. My kids love the marrow straight from the oven after I roast the bones for making broth.
Daniel
Hey Jana, Lexy, and Christa… Are you using Firefox on a laptop screen? If so, do you have your browser window open to the full width of the screen? I’ve only seen the social sharing buttons overlap when someone shrinks the size of their browser window to less than 3/4 the width of their normal laptop screen.
If that doesn’t apply, do you use a square shaped computer monitor, by any chance?
Leah
Ok.. just finished my second piece. Delicious! My one year old is grabbing for the plate. Daddy and 3 year old are sleeping and will have to try it in the morning. I am sure they will love it. YUM Yum. Now to coach our chickens to start laying more!
Heather
Thank you for this comment, Leah! I can’t tell you how happy it makes me to know that kids are going to grow up loving bone marrow because their mamas found creative ways to introduce it. 🙂
Sara Grambusch
Oh my gosh. I am so excited to make this.
Kim
What kind of flavor do the marrow bones add? Will the custard have a slightly beefy flavor???
Heather
They don’t really have much flavor. They remind me of cream only not as sweet.
Alexandria Sullivan
Just pulled my pumpkin out of the oven! So excited to finish making this. Just wanted to say that I was unsure of where to find marrow bones, so I asked the farmers we usually buy pork/chicken from at a local farmers market (we buy bulk beef elsewhere). It turns out they, and other local farmers, sell meatless marrow-filled bones as “dog bones” for about fifty cents a pound. Though the bones are perfectly fine for human consumption, the farmers consider them just a by product, so we got them pretty cheap. So if anyone is uncertain where to get extra marrow bones, this may be a good place to start!
Shayne
Could you tell me how much one recipe serves? I’m cooking pumpkins and draining my marrow as we speak…
Toni
Hello! Can the bone barrow be omitted or are there any substitutes? I fully intended on making this WITH the bone marrow, but I have everything else to make it right now! 🙂 thank you!
Susie
Do you have a measurement for how much flesh the pumpkin should yield? Because realistically, I’ll probably be using boxed pumpkin puree 🙂
Laura
I have the same question. I think I’ll try one can. I’m hoping that will do it. Has anyone else tried canned?
donna
Hi Heather,
What if I can’t get marrow bones? Is it okay to use that Great Lakes can of collagen powder?
Anna
So, would this recipe work if you just left out the marrow? Would you add more egg, or cream?