So I have been planning to make small pumpkin custards (crustless) for Thanksgiving. One of the guests eats dairy-free and I was wondering if anyone has a good recipe using an alternative “milk”? Does not have to be low-carb custard–I figure for me ditching the crust is good enough (tho’ I will prolly lightly grease the ramekins and dust with pecan or almond meal, for better release). Thanks!
I don’t have a recipe, but I’m wondering if it would work to just sub the alternative milk in your usual recipe (would you mind sharing it or listing ingredients?). My first thought for the alternative milk would be full fat coconut milk, as that would be most likely to thicken up well.
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That sounds tasty, and easy to prep in advance! Smart idea.
I’ve had very good luck with this woman’s recipes - I have a number of her books and they’re pretty reliable.
I haven’t tried this recipe myself but it might be a good one to try.
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I would agree, although it will impart a bit of coconut flavor, which might be fine. Nut and soy milks often don’t have enough body/fat to behave milk-like. There are some almond creamers that might work though, since I think they have less added water, if you can find one that’s unflavored/sweetened (Califia makes one).
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Oh, yeah, I tried a Califia creamer recently (a sweetened/flavored one, though) - yum. It was pretty thick, at least in comparison to regular almond milk.
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Califia’s products are pricey but soooo good. I love their pre-mixed unsweetened cold brew and almond milk. It’s dangerously good, because I want to keep drinking more and more, but it’s really quite caffeinated, so that gets dicey quickly ha.
Haha, fortunately(ish) I can’t do caffeine, so that’s not tempting. Their chocolate coconut almond milk, though…oh, man. Amazing.
Thanks for all the suggestions!
That’s what concerns me because evaporated milk usually contributes to the thickening.
I have seen those at Natural Grocers–we like their line of juices, btw–and if the creamers are thicker than regular almond milk, that might work.
In all of the dairy free pumpkin custard recipes I saw in a quick check on Pinterest (and including the one above), there was a common ingredient of a thickening agent - gelatin, usually. You’d Justin have to be careful to get the ratio correct so the texture wouldn’t be too jello-like.
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I glanced at a few recipes just now and several add 1 T cornstarch with almond or soy milks in addition to the eggs. That sounds easier than using gelatin, methinks.
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I love cornstarch as a thickening agent, though I’ve mainly used it in savory applications (gravies, mostly). I think it’s harder to overdo cornstarch than gelatin, so probably a good choice!
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If you need to thicken, you might try one of the vegan cream cheese products. It is moving away from custard into cheesecake land, but might be tasty.
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That’s an interesting idea…
Oh yeah, Tofutti’s cream cheese is good and works well in other baking substitutes, including cream cheese frosting (which I attribute in part to the fact that it was made for Kosher Jews to use with meat meals, not to be healthy).
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