Pumpkin Tapioca Pudding (Jinny)

Okay, I love all the Halloween recipes. We haven't tried this one yet, but I thought we'd make it the same night as Dinner in a Pumpkin. You cook this one in a pumpkin, too.
1 small (5 or 6 lb. pumpkin)
1 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice or ground cinnamon
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
6 T quick cooking tapioca
4 eggs
4 cups milk
2 tsp vanilla
Whipped cream, cream to pour or vanilla ice cream (optional)

Cut a 4 or 5 inch lid on the pumpkin top, lift off, remove any tissue and set aside. Scoop out and discard seeds and strings, scraping pumpkin as clean as possible Sprinkle 1 tsp of the spice inside the pumpkin/ roll it to dust interior evenly with spice. Set top back on pumpkin and place pumpkin on a rack in a broiler pan. Place in a 350 degree oven, then pour boiling water into the pan to a depth of 1/2 to 3/4 inch. Bake about 45 minutes. After the pumpkin has cooked about 20 minutes, start the tapioca pudding. In a 3 or 4 quart pan, mix together the sugar, salt, tapioca, eggs and milk. Let stand for10 minutes. Place on stove and stir over medium heat until boiling. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla. (Keep pudding hot.) Remove pumpkin from oven and set lit aside. Pour hot pudding into the pumpkin and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 tsp spice. Continue baking, uncovered, about 30 minutes or until pudding is set. Remove from oven and replace lid; let sit about 30 minutes to cool slightly. Serve warm, scooping out some pumpkin meat with each serving. Serve with cream or ice cream.