- 1 acorn squash
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon water, or as needed
- 4 egg yolks
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 2 cups milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place squash, pointed-side up, on a baking sheet.
- Bake in the preheated oven until squash is tender, about 1 hour. Cool squash until easily handled. Cut squash in half, remove seeds and stringy parts of meat, and peel skin from the squash and discard.
- Mash the squash meat in a bowl and measure 1 cup meat.
- Combine 1 cup squash meat and butter in a saucepan; add enough water to make squash stir-able. Cook squash mixture over low heat until squash softens, adding more water if needed to thin the squash, about 15 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat and cool squash mixture.
- Beat egg yolks and brown sugar together in a bowl using a whisk until thickened.
- Heat cream and milk together in a saucepan over low heat until mixture begins to simmer. Gradually pour cream mixture into the egg yolk mixture and beat until smooth to temper the eggs. Pour the cream-egg mixture into the saucepan; simmer over low heat until mixture is thickened and easily coats the back of a spoon, about 20 minutes. Strain cream mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into a large bowl and cool to room temperature.
- Beat squash mixture into cream mixture until smooth; stir in vanilla extract, ginger, salt, and allspice. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until completely chilled, at least 4 hours.
- Stir cream mixture and transfer to an ice cream maker and follow manufacturer's instructions for making ice cream.