Thursday, October 22, 2009

Pumpkin Creme Brulee

If you are looking for something a little more gourmet than pumpkin pie for a romantic dinner, but still want to keep the fall flavours, this pumpkin creme brulee hits the spot. Contrary to very delicate traditional creme brulee, the pumpkin adds a little more texture to the dessert. The pumpkin creme brulee is a combination of the most delectable pumpkin pie filling and the classiness of the creme brulee.

The Recipe: Pumpkin Creme Brulee
Serves 6 and takes 30 minutes to prep and 1 hour to cook. Cools overnight.
1 3/4 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/8 cup white sugar
7 large egg yolks
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Pinch finely ground sea salt
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/8 tsp allspice
1/8 tsp cloves
1/2 cooked pumpkin puree

Topping:
6 tsp white sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 325 degree. Fill a large casserole dish with 6 ramekins and water half way up the ramekins. Place the casserole dish in the oven while pre-heating and preparing the dessert.

Over medium heat, melt the brown and white sugar in the cream, ensuring you do not burn the cream. Set the pot off the heat. In a large bowl whisk the egg yolks until they are a soft yellow color and frothy. Add about half the cream mixture while whisking to ensure the eggs yolks do not curdle. Once well integrated, add the remaining cream while whisking. Using a mortar and pestle, grind the sea salt to a fine powder. Add the sea salt, vanilla, allspice, cloves and nutmeg. Using a fine mesh steel seive press the pumpkin puree through and into the mixture, this may take a little bit of work depending on how fine the pumpkin is pureed. Whisk the mixture to ensure all the ingredients are smooth.

Carefully remove the casserole dish from the oven. If you are feeling confident you can pour the mixture directly into the ramekins, about 2/3 high, although I would recommend transferring the mixture to something with a spout before pouring in the ramekins. Return the casserole dish to the oven and bake for 40-50 minutes, the creme brulee can be removed from the oven once the mixture is firm. Place in fridge over night.

Once ready to serve combine the sugar and cinnamon for the topping. Sprinkle over the top of the pumpkin creme brulee and either place directly under the broiler (with the oven door open) or use a kitchen blow torch (available at most specialty shops) until the sugar is melted. Enjoy!

3 comments:

Whats Cookin Italian Style Cuisine said...

wow this looks great, my mouth is watering!

Anonymous said...

This looks absolutely decadent!! Creme brulee and pumpkin - 2 of my favorite things!

Alicia said...

YUM!! I made this after I saw a recipe on the tv show Fresh and I must say it's become my favorite dessert. You recipe looks very tempting.

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