Pumpkin Crème Brûlée

This one might qualify as a cheater post. After all, crème brûlée was my last post. And after all, I did just tweak it slightly to make a pumpkin version (hey, at least it isn't pumpkin spice). But! It's October, the best month other year. And it is a time of falling leaves*, squash, and cooler temperatures.

*unless you live in Florida

So where could I squeeze in some pumpkin? How does the magic happen? All this and more in this special fall blog post.

Crème brûlée is not a truly challenging recipe. It requires some special care, but ultimately is pudding in a cup with a toasted top. It might be an amazing pudding.

The process didn't change one bit. I heated heavy cream in a saucepan with vanilla extract, stirring frequently, until the simmer started. I then removed it from the heat and set it aside to cool for several minutes.

The next step was the egg yolks. I separated 4 eggs, scrambled the whites for Moxie (spoiled dog), and mixed the yolks, sugar, and pumpkin in a medium bowl. I wasn't sure how much pumpkin to use or if I should up the yolk level to protect consistency, so I started with half a can (15 ounce can). It didn't have the orange pumpkin color I wanted so I just added in the other half. Wouldn't have hurt to add a yolk, but I kept it as is to try it out.

I added a small amount of the hot cream mixture into the pumpkin spice dream and whisked constantly. I slowly added more until the mixture was fully combined. Then, I separated it into ramekins. Because of the pumpkin, I wound up with 8 ramekins instead of 6. I then added water around the bowls and plopped them in a preheated oven.

After baking for about 45 minutes, I let them cool and then let them set in the fridge. The last step was that toasted sugar topping, all thanks to my amazing yard sale find of a Williams Sonoma butane torch. Voila.

I did two layers of sugar this time, as in I toasted one and then sprinkled more sugar and toasted it again. The result was a thick sugar glass layer on top.

The consistency was quite good, so the pumpkin did not ruin this one bit. It was not quite as velvety smooth this time, but I did change 30% of the content. However, it was still very crème brûlée.

All in all this was a fun fall recipe and one that is sure to grab attention on Thanksgiving. If you have a pumpkin obsession, this is a surefire way to show it off.

Pumpkin Crème Brûlée Recipe

Ingredients:

3 1/2-4 cups heavy cream (1 quart)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract (vanilla bean paste or a vanilla bean preferred)

3/4 cup sugar

6 egg yolks

1 can pumpkin

4-5 cups water (depending on pan size)

Instructions:

In a medium saucepan, heat heavy cream and vanilla extract over medium-high heat until it begins to boil, stirring frequently. Remove from heat an set aside to cool for 15 minutes. Heat oven to 325 degrees F. In a medium bowl (enough for at least 4 cups of liquid), whisk eggs, pumpkin, and 1/2 cup sugar together. After cooling the cream, pour about 1/2 cup of the cream into the egg mixture, stirring constantly. Gradually add more of the cream until the eggs and cream are combined. Gently pour into ramekins. Add ramekins into a large pan with sides (like a lasagna pan or Pyrex dish). Fill pan with water around ramekins until ramekins are halfway submerged. Bake in oven for about 45 minutes, until mixture is partially set but no longer liquid. Allow to cool, then refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours. Remove from fridge about 30 minutes before serving. To add sugar topping, sprinkle 1-2 teaspoons of sugar on top of each ramekin. Use a butane torch roughly 6-8 inches away from the sugar to toast sugar until browned. Allow to cool, then serve.

adapted from alton brown's creme brulee