Butternut Squash Pudding

Mmmm butternut squash. Most people turn their nose up at squash but me? I love it. I think squash is so versatile. Along with being full of vitamins and good for you ingredients, you can do so much with it. One thing you can do with it is make it into a pudding. Yum! I made a few alterations to my recipe, omitting the eggs and substitution with banana. I didn't take into account how sweet this would taste when I added the Splenda. Oops. I mean it was still good, just very sweet. I don't like things that are overly sweet but someone who likes sweet things might.

After mixing the cornstarch and sugar, I put all wet ingredients into the food processor and added the sugar mixture.

Next I put the pureed mixture over heat. What do you think about my bright green whisk? It was a gift from my Secret Lilly Elf over Christmas. She didn't even know that the rest of my kitchen accessories were lime green! Crazy huh?

Now, this has to be continually whisked until it became thick and firm. If not, it would burn. Mine started to on the bottom of the pan because I didn't keep whisking the way I should have.

When all was said and done, I had a very tasty, I be it sweet pudding that was filled with nutrients and pretty low calorie considering the original recipe had heavy cream and eggs!

I should also mention that I didn't have a sieve so mine had some lumps in it but nothing that couldn't be overlooked, since I wasn't serving it to anyone.

Well that's all for today, sorry for the lack of updates. Like I said, the next few weeks are going to be crazy busy but I'm going to do what I can. Oh and I will have a post for Make on Through sometime in April. I can't post it before then because it's a gift for someone. I hope you all have a great week!

Recipe
Savour the Senses

Ingredients

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar (I used Splenda brown sugar blend)

3 tablespoons corn starch

1 cup roasted butternut squash puree

1 1/2 cups non-fat milk (I used almond milk)

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream (I used Greek yogurt)

pinch of salt

3 large egg yolks (I used a ripe banana)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 tablespoons light butter (cubed) (I used Earth Balance)

In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar and corn starch.In your blender, blend the squash puree, milk, heavy cream, brown sugar mixture, salt, and egg yolks. Blend until very smooth then strain through a fine sieve (or cheesecloth) into a saucepan.

Cook the squash mixture over medium heat, whisking constantly, until thickened and bubbly (about 10 minutes). Reduce the heat to low and continue cooking and stirring for another minute or two (your pudding should be thickened but still pourable).

Strain the pudding through the sieve into a bowl (using a spatula or wooden spoon helps).

Stir vanilla extract and butter into the hot pudding until completely combined. Let the pudding cool, then place plastic wrap on the surface, cover and refrigerate until cold.

Notes

To make the squash puree, half the squash and roast face-down at 400F until soft (about 30-40 minutes).