Pumpkin Pie Crème Brûlée
Got leftover Pumpkin Purée or Pumpkin Pie filling? Well, now you know what to do! Turn it into a custard with a delicious caramelized sugar on top. You might be thinking, but dessert for breakfast? 100% If you think long and hard, this has all breakfast ingredients — eggs, cream, sugar. Rules are for fools. Go treat yoself!
Video Tutorial
What is Crème Brûlée?
Also known as burned cream, burnt cream or Trinity cream, and virtually identical to the original crema catalana, is a dessert consisting of a rich custard base topped with a layer of hardened caramelized sugar. Traditionally, you only need five simple ingredients – cream, vanilla, salt, eggs and sugar, and it makes for an exquisitely rich and elegant dessert.
How do I brûlée (caramelize/burn) the top?
Most crème brûlée recipes require the use of a blowtorch to achieve the crackly sugar top, which I also recommend as well. Although it may feel dangerous, as long as you are not a pyromaniac and old enough to handle the torch, it’s easier to control how much you’d like to burn the top.
There is an alternate solution, some may find to be simpler and safer — using your oven's broiler. And while you broil in the oven, keep an eye on it, you do not want the sugar to catch on fire. Regardless of how you brûlée the top, be sure to let the custard set for several hours in the refrigerator, otherwise you'll end up with soupy custard
Recipe — Pumpkin Pie Crème Brûlée
Serving Size: 4
Ingredients
Heavy Cream - 2 cups
Pumpkin Pie Spice - 1 tsp
Vanilla Paste/Extract - 1 tsp
Egg Yolks - 4
Sugar - 1/2 cup + 4 tbsp for 4 ramekins
Pumpkin Purée - 1/2 cup
Salt - 1/8 tsp
Directions
Preheat the oven to 300° F.
In a medium sauce pot, over medium-high heat, add the heavy cream, pumpkin pie spices, and the vanilla bean paste. Bring to a boil and remove from heat.
In a medium bowl, whisk the yolks with the sugar until the mixture is pale yellow and the sugar is dissolved. Then whisk in the pumpkin purée until it is fully dissolved.
Slowly add the cream to the egg mixture, a little at a time, whisking as you add it. Make sure you don’t curdle the eggs, stir in the salt and then strain the mixture through a sieve to make sure there is no large chunks of pumpkin, curled eggs or shells.
Pour into four 6-ounce ramekins and place the ramekins in a deep baking dish. Full the dish with boiling water halfway up the sides of the dishes. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until centers are barely set. Use a thermometer to check if it’s ready — the target doneness temperature for crème brûlée is 176°F.
Remove the ramekins from the water bath and let it cool at room temperature for about 30 minutes. Then set them in the fridge for a minimum of 3 hours but it’s best to leave them overnight.
When ready to serve, top each custard with 1 tbsp of sugar per ramekins in a thin layer.
Blowtorch — Heat the sugar with a butane torch until caramelized. To get a thick caramelized sugar crust, repeat the step, with just a light sprinkling of sugar each time. Allow to cool and serve.
Broiler Method — Place ramekins in a broiler 2 to 3 inches from heat source. Turn on broiler. Cook until sugar melts and browns or even blackens a bit, about 5 minutes.
Allow to cool for a few minutes, and serve within two hours. Enjoy!
Not going to tell you how to eat your crème brûlée but make sure to take some time to yourself this crazy Thanksgiving-Black Friday weekend to relax and to savor and enjoy every bite. It’s such a decadent dessert! ☺️
If you do recreate our recipe, be sure to
TAG & FOLLOW @TheSpiceOdyssey
Stay up to date with us on Instagram, Pinterest, Youtube and Facebook.
