Baked Whole Pumpkin

This dish was a favorite of George Washington. While it was called a pie in the old days, it's certainly not what we call a pie now. Here the custard pie is found inside the pumpkin and the whole thing is to be served up with a bit of anticipation for a very different pumpkin dessert.

1 pumpkin, 5 - 7 pounds

6 whole eggs

2 cups whipping cream

½ cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon molasses

½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1 teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ginger

2 tablespoons butter

Cut the lid off the pumpkin just as you would a jack-o'-lantern. Remove the seeds and save for toasting later.

Mix the remaining ingredients together with the exception of the butter. Fill the pumpkin with this mixture and top with the butter.

Cover with the pumpkin lid and place in a baking pan. Bake at 350 for 1 - 1 1/2 hours, or until the mixture has set like a custard.

Serve from the pumpkin at your table, scraping some of the meat from the pumpkin with each serving.

This is an interesting substitute for the usual pumpkin pie.

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