Recipe Of The Week: Pumpkin-Cashew Pudding

Don’t make this pudding unless you are prepared to make it again and again. Luxuriously silky pumpkin pudding is thickened by creamy cashews, which also add a unique texture to this dessert.

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings

1 cup raw, unsalted cashews
1 ½ cups coconut-almond milk blend
1 15 oz can pumpkin puree
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
pinch salt
3 large eggs

Preparation

1. Place the cashews in a bowl and cover with hot water. Let soak for 15-20 minutes. Drain thoroughly and set aside.
2. Heat the almond milk in a pot over medium heat, until it just starts to bubble. Whisk in the pumpkin puree, maple syrup, vanilla, nutmeg and salt and let bubble on low for 2-3 minutes.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs together. Add one cup of the pumpkin mixture to the eggs and whisk together. This will temper the eggs.
4. Pour the egg mixture back into the pumpkin mixture in the pot. Stir to combine and let sit, covered, off the heat for 5 minutes.
5. Remove this mixture to a baking dish and let cool in the fridge for 1 hour.
6. After the pumpkin mixture is cooled, pour it into a blender or food processor, along with the cashews, and blend until smooth.
7. Divide into 4 dessert cups and let sit in the fridge for 2 hours, up to overnight, before serving.

More recipes from Jessica Cerra

Jessica Cerra is the owner of Fit Food by Jess, a private chef and catering company in Encinitas, Calif., and the co-founder of JoJe Bar. A former professional XTERRA triathlete, Cerra now races for Twenty16 Women’s Professional Cycling Team.