Pumpkin Coconut Custard – Southeast Asian Dessert

Pumpkin Coconut Custard is pure sweet comfort food, Southeast Asian style. Soft pumpkin is filled with creamy coconut custard then baked into sweet dessert perfection – all with everyday, easy to find ingredients.

Why We Love This

We love how soft, sweet and tender the pumpkin goes after steaming, the perfect partner to the creamy coconut custard.

While you usually wouldn’t think to put custard IN a pumpkin, it tastes quite similar to the classic American Pumpkin Pie (especially when you use coconut milk like we do!). In fact, if you added pumpkin spices into the custard mix, I bet that would taste divine!

What is Pumpkin Coconut Custard? 

This sweet dessert uses a whole Kabocha pumpkin which is hollowed out, filled with a creamy coconut custard mix and steamed to perfection.

It’s popular across Southeast Asia, throughout Laos (sangkhaya maryu), Thailand (sangkaya fak thong) and Cambodia (sankhya lapov). You’ll usually find it at market stalls and in the family home as a favourite sweet treat.

Where We Learnt This Recipe:

This little Asian dessert recipe came into our lives in a city called Pakse, in southern Laos.

We were doing what we do best: Following our noses around every corner. Wandering laneways, dodging scooters, and scouring the town for unexpected foodie discoveries.

And then we found the Pumpkin Coconut Custard Man.

Or rather, we found Pumpkin Man’s stall outside his home, laid out with slices of baked pumpkins filled with coconut infused custard (the flavour of which we figured out later through sophisticated taste-testing methods).

It took us a few goes to get his attention, engrossed as he was in a Lao drama on his TV. But we managed to draw him outside and let him know we just HAD to try his delicious looking dessert.

One bite of that softly sweet stuffed pumpkin and we were hooked.

What You’ll Need

This is super easy to make at home, and the best part is you won’t have to hunt for any hard-to-find ingredients.

• Small Pumpkin – Not too big, yet deep enough to hold a decent amount of coconut custard. We used Japanese pumpkins (Kabocha) which is the traditional variety of pumpkin for this recipe. You can also use other kinds of pumpkins, squash or gourd depending on what you have available in your area. 
• Coconut cream – Coconut cream is a thicker, more concentrated version of coconut milk. If you only have coconut milk, add an extra dash of normal milk for creaminess. You can also pop a couple of cans of coconut milk in the fridge, then once the ‘fats’ set, scoop out and use the solids, leaving the coconut water behind.
• Sugar – Different sugars may lead to different colour custard. Use white sugar for bright custard, brown sugar for a deeper colour. Palm sugar (gula melaka) is used in the traditional version and will lead to a darker custard with a caramelised flavour.

How to make steamed pumpkin with custard filling:

1. Preheat your oven to 150˚C (300˚F). Trace a hexagon on top of the pumpkin, and slice into it with a sharp knife to create a lid. Prise out with a butter knife and slice off the seeds from the lid. Using a spoon, scoop and remove the seeds and soft flesh from the inside of the pumpkin. Pop the hollow pumpkin in a Dutch oven.
2. Crack the eggs into a mixing bowl and add the sugar, vanilla essence and salt. Whisk until evenly mixed, then pour in the coconut cream and whisk again until well combined (around a minute or two).
3. Pour the custard mixture into your pumpkin. Add the hot water into your Dutch oven (aim for 2cm / 1 inch if you can). This will steam the pumpkin as it bakes. Place the pumpkin lid either back on the pumpkin, to the side in the Dutch oven or leave it off altogether.
4. Put on the Dutch oven lid and pop it in the oven for an hour and a half. After times up, use a clean knife and pierce the middle of the custard. If it comes out clean, your custard is set!
5. Remove from the oven and allow to cool down to room temperature before slicing and serving [Important!]. Note: The custard may still be a little soft when you first finish cooking, but it will set once it cools down.

Wandercook’s Tips

• Hot Water – This is key! It makes sure your coconut custard cooks and steams to perfection while it bakes. Without the water, your pumpkin won’t get that lovely soft melty texture that makes this dish so scrumptious.
• Pumpkin Size – Make sure to choose the smallest pumpkin (or two if they’re really small). If it’s too big, the custard won’t set and all you’ll get is a runny mess.
• Preparing the Pumpkin – Clean the outside of the pumpkin before cooking and always use a sharp knife to cut through it.
• Handle with Care – When removing from the Dutch oven, the pumpkin will be soft and tender, easy to split or break apart.

FAQs

Variations & Substitutes

• Tiny Pumpkins – Great idea to use for single serving portions.
• Cook Custard Separately – You can steam the custard separately in a bowl if you prefer not to cook it in the pumpkin. Serve over sticky rice steamed in coconut cream with a little sugar and salt.
• Keep the Seeds – Wash, dry and toast the pumpkin seeds separately in olive oil, salt & pepper for a tasty snack.
• Alternative Methods – If you don’t have a Dutch oven, you can steam it on the stove or cover the pumpkin in foil on a baking tray. 
• Garnish Ideas –
  – Top with pumpkin spice or maple syrup.  
  – Top slices with shaved fresh young coconut (or desiccated coconut) + gula melaka syrup and toasted sesame seeds. 
  – Top with the creamy white coconut sauce from our che ba mau Vietnamese dessert.

For more pumpkin goodness, try these next.

★ Did you make this recipe? Please leave a comment and star rating below!

Pumpkin Coconut Custard – Southeast Asian Dessert

Pumpkin Coconut Custard is pure sweet comfort food, Southeast Asian style. Soft pumpkin is filled with creamy coconut custard then baked into sweet dessert perfection – all with everyday, easy to find ingredients.

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Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Lao

Servings: 10 slices

Calories: 1895kcal

Author: Wandercooks

Cost: $5

Equipment

• ▢
  Knife
• ▢
  Baking dish

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 small Japanese pumpkin aka kabocha (or similar)
• ▢ 4 eggs
• ▢ 270 ml coconut cream just over 1 cup
• ▢ ½ cup caster sugar / superfine sugar
• ▢ 1 tsp vanilla essence
• ▢ ½ tsp salt
• ▢ 2 cups hot water

Metric – US Customary

Instructions

• Preheat your oven to 150˚C (300˚F).
• Trace a hexagon on top of the pumpkin, and slice into it with a sharp knife to create a lid. Prise out with a butter knife and slice off the seeds from the lid. Using a spoon, scoop and remove the seeds and soft flesh from the inside of the pumpkin. Pop the hollow pumpkin in a Dutch oven.
  1 small Japanese pumpkin
• Crack the eggs into a mixing bowl and add the sugar, vanilla essence and salt. Whisk until evenly mixed, then pour in the coconut cream and whisk again until well combined (around a minute or two).
  4 eggs, ½ cup caster sugar / superfine sugar, 1 tsp vanilla essence, ½ tsp salt, 270 ml coconut cream
• Pour the custard mixture into your pumpkin. Add the hot water into your Dutch oven (aim for 2cm / 1 inch if you can). This will steam the pumpkin as it bakes. Place the pumpkin lid either back on the pumpkin, to the side in the Dutch oven or leave it off altogether.
  2 cups hot water
• Put on the Dutch oven lid and pop it in the oven for an hour and a half. After times up, use a clean knife and pierce the middle of the custard. If it comes out clean, your custard is set!
• Remove from the oven and allow to cool down to room temperature before slicing and serving [Important!]. Note: The custard may still be a little soft when you first finish cooking, but it will set once it cools down.

Video

Recipe Notes

• Small Pumpkin – Not too big, yet deep enough to hold a decent amount of coconut custard. We used Japanese pumpkins (Kabocha) which is the traditional variety of pumpkin for this recipe. You can also use other kinds of pumpkins, squash or gourd depending on what you have available in your area.
• Coconut cream – Coconut cream is a thicker, more concentrated version of coconut milk. If you only have coconut milk, add an extra dash of normal milk for creaminess. You can also pop a couple of cans of coconut milk in the fridge, then once the ‘fats’ set, scoop out and use the solids, leaving the coconut water behind.
• Sugar – Different sugars may lead to different colour custard. Use white sugar for bright custard, brown sugar for a deeper colour. Palm sugar (gula melaka) is used in the traditional version and will lead to a darker custard with a caramelised flavour.
• Hot Water – This is key! It makes sure your coconut custard cooks and steams to perfection while it bakes. Without the water, your pumpkin won’t get that lovely soft melty texture that makes this dish so scrumptious.
• Pumpkin Size – Make sure to choose the smallest pumpkin (or two if they’re really small). If it’s too big, the custard won’t set and all you’ll get is a runny mess.
• Preparing the Pumpkin – Clean the outside of the pumpkin before cooking and always use a sharp knife to cut through it.
• Handle with Care – When removing from the Dutch oven, the pumpkin will be soft and tender, easy to split or break apart.
• Keep the Seeds – Wash, dry and toast the pumpkin seeds separately in olive oil, salt & pepper for a tasty snack.
• Alternative Cooking Methods – If you don’t have a Dutch oven, you can steam it on the stove or cover the pumpkin in foil on a baking tray.
• Garnish Ideas –
  – Top with pumpkin spice or maple syrup.
  – Top slices with shaved fresh young coconut (or desiccated coconut) + gula melaka syrup and toasted sesame seeds.
  – Top with the creamy white coconut sauce from our che ba mau Vietnamese dessert.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Pumpkin Coconut Custard – Southeast Asian Dessert

Amount per Serving

Calories

1895

% Daily Value*

Fat

 

112

g

172

%

Saturated Fat

 

89

g

556

%

Cholesterol

 

655

mg

218

%

Sodium

 

1445

mg

63

%

Potassium

 

5744

mg

164

%

Carbohydrates

 

208

g

69

%

Fiber

 

13

g

54

%

Sugar

 

139

g

154

%

Protein

 

46

g

92

%

Vitamin A

 

116727

IU

2335

%

Vitamin C

 

130

mg

158

%

Calcium

 

414

mg

41

%

Iron

 

20

mg

111

%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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