Okay, this is NOT exactly Paleo but during this time of year (it's Thanksgiving in the U.S. tomorrow) I have a hard time finding food to eat at family functions and I especially hate the dessert part of the meal, which usually leaves me with nothing to do but watch everyone else eat (sorry, I don't watch football).

So I came up with this "low impact" pumpkin-coconut custard that is only slightly sweet and very satisfying if you are craving pumpkin pie. There is some sugar, I use organic coconut palm sugar and a little raw organic honey. There is no dairy. I use coconut cream to replace the evaporated or condensed milk in most recipes. Everything else is pretty inert.

Ingredients

3/4 cup canned pumpkin puree
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups (one 12-ounce can) coconut cream
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup palm sugar
2 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
pinch allspice and nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, eggs, coconut cream, honey, and vanilla. In another bowl, stir together the palm sugar, spices, and salt and sift into the pumpkin mixture. Stir the batter until combined well and pour into your favorite custard dishes, ramekins, or whatever you use to make custard.

3. Place dishes into large oven proof pan and pour enough water into pan to go up about halfway on the custard dishes.

4. Bake for 50 minutes, or until set.

This makes about four decent servings and there is a total of six tablespoons of "sugar" so each serving has about 1-1/2 tablespoons of sugar. I'm okay with that a couple times a year although I know some people aren't. It has a nice hearty flavor and the coconut is subtle. It does not taste anywhere near as sweet as most desserts. Enjoy!