Vegan Pumpkin Kaya (coconut custard)

  Kaya is a spread popular in Singapore that is traditionally made out of eggs, coconut and sugar. I grew up eating this thing by the bucket-loads, and I missed it when I moved away. I figured that as pumpkin puree had a similar texture to that of kaya, if I flavoured it with coconut, sugar and pandan, I would have my own vegan kaya. And it was (surprisingly) a huge success. So here it is:

Pumpkin Kaya by Sasha
3 1/2 cups of cubed Japanese pumpkin/Kabocha, steamed with skin and seeds removed*
1 cup full fat coconut milk, thick
70g coconut palm sugar (gula melaka)
5 pandan leaves, or a drop of pandan extract

1. Steam the pumpkin until soft and tender then blend it with the coconut milk and sugar until smooth. It should be ever so liquid-like, so if it is still too firm add an additional 3-4 tbsp of coconut milk

2. Transfer to a saucepan and add leaves or extract, stir over low heat until thick, about 1/2 an hour. 

3. Remove leaves if using and leave to cool before storing in the fridge.

This goes perfectly on toast, rice crackers, flaxseed crackers, rye bread, pancakes, oatmeal... the sky's the limit! This recipe was made for both the bambinos and my ebook :P