A great pudding is hard to pass up, and this is a great one! A pumpkin pudding with just the right balance of spices, it’s like pumpkin pie filling, only better. You’re going to have a hard time putting down the spoon once you taste this decadent, homemade pudding.

How to make homemade pumpkin pudding

Puddings are great desserts because they’re so satisfying and so easy to make. The ingredients in this dessert recipe are pretty straightforward. But you’ll notice that it calls for individual spices instead of a pumpkin spice blend. There’s a good reason for it. If you buy a pre-packaged pumpkin spice mix, you don’t really know the proportion of each spice added to the blend. So to have better control over your baking, this recipe for pumpkin pudding, like most autumn baking recipes, calls for specific measures of these warming spices. So instead of buying pumpkin pie spice, invest in all the delicious baking spices of nutmeg, ginger and cinnamon.

Making pudding is so simple. It just takes a lot of stirring and a little patience. You basically just whisk together all your ingredients in the pan and cook until they thicken. The trick is to just keep whisking, pretty much constantly, to ensure a smooth and deliciously creamy texture. (Note that in this pudding you do not add the vanilla extract until after the pudding is cooked and strained.) Then you just have to patiently wait the two hours until your cooled pudding is ready to eat. What could be easier?

Note that I like to make a batch of fresh whipped cream while the pudding is cooling. Nothing beats a dollop of whipped cream on top of a dish of homemade pudding!

Equipment

You do need a little bit of special equipment to make this holiday pudding recipe. First of all, you’ll need a good, medium-sized saucepan and a whisk. If you do a lot of cooking, you’ll already have these. But if you don’t, invest in something that will last you a lifetime. I recommend this pan from All-Clad. It’s what I use in my own kitchen. Whisks won’t last a lifetime but one with a grippy handle is useful.

You’re also going to need a fine mesh sieve and a ladle to separate out any pumpkin solids in the pumpkin puree from the creamy pudding. If you don’t own a sieve, you can use a fine mesh strainer.

When to serve this indulgent pumpkin dessert

You might be wondering if you can serve this pudding as an alternative to traditional pumpkin pie. YES! This dessert makes a great option for anyone burnt out on the traditional Thanksgiving dessert. But don’t think of this as just a dessert to serve only at this holiday meal.

Why the spices might make this a date night dessert

You knew I was going to get to the part about what makes this sexy pudding! Yes, this just might be a recipe for romance. After all, the spices used in baking are also called the “warming spices.” This includes cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. They are all, of course, historically aphrodisiacs.

And speaking of aphrodisiacs, this pumpkin pie spice pudding recipe offers more than just sensual spices. Did you know that pumpkin, the namesake ingredient of pumpkin pudding recipes is actually an aphrodisiac?

Despite all the sexy ingredients, this pudding has a flavor and texture the whole family will love. So, serve the pumpkin pudding dessert to your lover as a midnight snack or make a big batch for a family reunion. Whenever you decide to make some puddin’ is the right time!

RELATED: Want more pumpkin recipes? Check out this easy, made-from-scratch Pumpkin Bundt Cake Recipe

Pumpkin Pie Pudding

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This creamy and decadent pudding from Clio Goodman's book Puddin' puts a sensual spin on pumpkin pie, only in a spoonable form. 

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Dish Type pudding

Cooking Style Baking

Seasonal autumn, Christmas, Halloween, Holiday season, New Year's Eve, Thanksgiving, winter

Ingredient pumpkin

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 22 minutes mins

Cooling Time 2 hours hrs

Total Time 27 minutes mins

Servings 6

Calories 321

Author Clio Goodman

Equipment

• Medium saucepan
• Whisk
• Fine mesh sieve
• Ladle

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups half and half
• 1 3/4 cups whole milk
• 3 egg yolks
• 3 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 15-oz can unsweetened, solid-pack pumpkin
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• whipped cream for serving** optional

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• In a medium saucepan vigorously whisk together all of the ingredients except for the vanilla.
• Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until thickened, 10 minutes. (Once you can lift the whisk from the pudding and it leaves a faint shadow, it’s done.)
• Strain the pudding through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing pudding through sieve with a ladle (using a ladle here really helps separate the pumpkin solids from the silky pudding ). Whisk in vanilla.
• Cool at room temperature for 10 minutes, press a layer of plastic wrap onto the surface of the pudding, and chill completely in refrigerator, 2 hours.

Notes

*If you don't have a sieve, use a fine mesh strainer. 

**I like to make fresh whipped cream as a topping for this (or any) pudding. 

Nutrition

Calories: 321kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 130mg | Sodium: 473mg | Potassium: 261mg | Fiber: 0.1g | Sugar: 42g | Vitamin A: 495IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 207mg | Iron: 1mg

Recipe excerpted from PUDDIN’ by Clio Goodman Copyright © 2013 by Clio Goodman. Excerpted by permission of Spiegel & Grau, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

If you like this Pumpkin Pie Pudding recipe, get the whole book:

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Amy Reiley

Eat Something Sexy's Creator & Editor-in-Chief Amy Reiley is the award-winning author of five aphrodisiac cookbooks. She has her Master of Arts in Gastronomy, awarded by Le Cordon Bleu and The University of Adelaide.

Amy is considered a leading authority on aphrodisiacs and her work in the field of aphrodisiac food history and health science is quoted in publications including National Geographic, The New York Times, Epicurious, Wine Enthusiast, Health and Playboy magazines. She speaks internationally on aphrodisiacs and has brought her knowledge of aphrodisiac foods to national television shows including The Today Show and CBS Early Show. She is a frequent guest on relationship and lifestyle radio and podcast shows and has been interviewed by BBC and NPR radio, Cosmopolitan radio and popular podcasts including My Dad Wrote a Porno.

Amy is also a freelance food, wine and health researcher and writer as well as a wine competition judge. Her work has appeared in publications ranging from Variety to The Daily Meal. She is an MSN content provider. And she is also a former wine editor for Gayot.com and wine & spirits editor of Las Vegas magazine.

Fun fact: Amy was the creator of the first ever comprehensive food and wine apps, Amy Reiley's Pocket Gourmet and Amy Reiley's Pocket Vineyard for Palm.

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