Just sweet enough.

There’s an article I found years ago, possibly in Yankee or DownEast magazine, that describes cornmeal and molasses pudding — called Indian pudding by Puritan settlers. The recipe was an adaptation of British Hasty Pudding made with the cornmeal the settlers learned to make from Native Americans.

The early dish could be sweet or savory but eventually became exclusively made as the sweet version we know today. Growing up my Mom used my grandmother’s recipe. It was a humble dish, her version made without even using eggs. While hours long cooking made the cornmeal tender it was still a bit grainy, and sweet but not too sweet. As the article I read suggested, after all, they were Puritans and didn't want it to be that pleasurable to eat.

This version feels a bit more modern. Eggs and pumpkin make it richer while puréeing in a blender leaves the pudding smooth. And while it is certainly sweeter than the version I grew up with, don’t worry, it’s still not that sweet.

Crisp Pumpkin Cornmeal Pudding

Pumpkin, milk, cornmeal and spices combine in a slow-cooked pudding covered with an apple-crisp-style crumble. The dessert is hearty enough for a fall evening while still being light enough for warm Autumn nights.

For pudding:

• 1 tbs butter

• 4 cups milk

• 1/2 cup cornmeal

• 1/4 cup molasses

• Pinch salt

• 2 cups pumpkin purée

• 4 eggs

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 1 tsp cinnamon

• 1 tsp ginger

For crumble:

• 1 cup cornmeal

• 1 cup brown sugar

• 1/2 cup (4 oz) butter

• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

• 1/2 cup pepitas or pecans (optional)

Directions:

Butter a 2 1/2 quart baking dish (that’s 9x9x3 or 8” round x3” deep). Preheat oven to 325°F.

Make pudding: Place milk in a 4 qt saucepan set over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer, watching carefully that it doesn’t boil over. Add cornmeal, molasses and salt and return to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until it thickens to the consistency of thin oatmeal.

Transfer cornmeal mix to a blender. Add pumpkin, eggs, sugar, cinnamon and ginger. Process until smooth. Transfer to buttered baking dish.

Make crumble: Combine cornmeal, brown sugar and butter. Use a pastry cutter or food processor to cut together into a crumbly dough. Add nuts and mix in using your fingers. Bring dough together into a ball and break apart over pudding to cover.

Bake: Place in oven and bake to 185°F on an instant read thermometer, 60-90 minutes. The center will still jiggle and look wet. Let rest for 30 minutes for pudding to set. Serve by itself or with cream, whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

VARIATION: Traditional New England cornmeal pudding is made without a crumble topping. To make it this way, use only 3 1/2 cups of milk in the saucepan, reserving 1/2 cup. After baking for 30 minutes pour the reserved 1/2 cup milk over the top of the pudding and finish baking.