Pumpkin Custard

It's almost fall!  As much as I hate bidding adieu to the summer sunshine, I'm a huge fan of autumn.  That fabulous few months where you can pair a hooded sweatshirt with shorts, the days are still just long enough that there's a peak of sunlight after work, the leaves turn into a gorgeous array of sunset tones and food takes a seasonal turn to warmer flavors.  I agree that August is jumping the gun a little bit in regard to breaking out the pumpkin but what can I say, I'm excited.

These individual custards are gluten free, under 100 calories apiece and an absolutely decadent treat, even if it is a tad bit on the early side.  On top of that, their incredibly simple to make.

Pumpkin Custard

1 cup of almond meal
2 tablespoons hazelnut meal
1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted
1 can pumpkin puree
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 large egg
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
1/4 cup ground flax seed meal
1/2 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup plain, nonfat Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons cinnamon

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Line a muffin tin with cupcake papers and coat each one with nonstick cooking spray
- Combine nut meals and coconut oil until it forms a crumbly dough
- Press crust mixture into the bottoms of individual cups of a muffin tin lined with cupcake papers
- Bake for 6 minutes
- In a large bowl, combine, pumpkin, applesauce, egg, protein powder, flax seed, baking soda, baking powder and pumpkin pie spice and whisk together until well incorporated
- Add 1/3 cup of the pumpkin mixture to each compartment of the muffin tin
- Bake for 20 minutes
- Combine Greek yogurt, honey and cinnamon together
- Allow the custards to cook and top with the yogurt mixture prior to serving
- Drizzle with honey as garnish if desired