Pumpkin Pumpkin Pumpkin
Are you tired of pumpkin stuff yet? I hope not! Today’s recipe is wonderful and would make a delightful substitute for traditional pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving or Christmas. Super easy, and you can make it ahead and keep it in the refrigerator. We had a bit of pumpkin puree leftover in the refrigerator, so with company coming for dinner, this was the perfect dessert for tonight!
My favorite dessert
I would venture to say that my favorite dessert is Crème Brulée. Unfortunately, when I order it at a restaurant it rarely meets my expectations, and it is fabulously expensive. Because of that, I have learned to make it myself at home, and you can too! That creamy, velvety richness topped with the crackly burnt sugar is seriously a party in my mouth. I even get my husband to help out prior to serving it, because being a man, he likes a reason to get out his blow torch. I actually have a kitchen version, which I use. The first time I used his plumbing torch to make it, I burnt my hair, so I treated myself to the proper kitchen tool to make this delightful dessert.
California Girl Comments: Unlike April, I am not a huge fan of Crème Brûée simply for the fact that often it is just so bland. Rarely do I get anything more than a mouth full of just meh with a crunchy sweet top. This recipe, however, has all of the wonderful flavor and spices of fall for the win! Spicy, rich and creamy all at the same time. A real delight that will make you look like a professional chef in your own kitchen.
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Ingredients:
Today’s version is a pumpkin Crème Brûlée.
You will need:
1 cup of pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling!)
1 cup of heavy cream
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup of packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp of cinnamon
1/8 tsp of salt
1 tsp of vanilla paste (or liquid vanilla)
extra granulated or raw sugar
7 or 8 small ramekins and a large roasting or baking pan
*Preheat oven to 325 degrees
Directions:
1. In a medium-sized bowl, mix the brown sugar and egg yolks together until well blended.
2. Add the remaining ingredients and whisk together until smooth.
3. Place 7-8 ramekins in a large roasting pan, and fill each one 1/2 to 3/4 full of your batter. Depending on the size of your ramekins you will get 4 to 8 of them.
4. Being careful to not get water in the ramekins, fill the roasting pan with hot water until the water comes halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
5. Bake for 35-40 minutes. The tops will still be a little jiggly when you remove them from the pan, but this is ok! Use tongs to grab the ramekins and remove from the hot water so you don’t burn yourself.
6. Place on a tray and cool in the refrigerator for a few hours.
Prior to serving:
Sprinkle the top of each portion with a generous amount of granulated or raw sugar. I use raw sugar because I like the caramel-like taste of it, but granulated works fine. When I use the sugar in the raw, I use one packet per serving and it works out perfectly. Using a kitchen torch, heat the sugar until it melts and turns a golden brown. If you don’t have a torch, you can put them on a cookie sheet under the broiler to melt the sugar: BUT WATCH THEM CLOSELY – so they don’t burn! It is really more fun to use a torch and they aren’t expensive. Your guests will be really impressed as you put the final touches on this delicious dessert.
The Result:
I think this is a French dessert–so let me say Au revoir until next week! ~ Ms. April
California Girl Comments: From us all here at Napa Food and Vine, Happy Thanksgiving.
10 Comments
This seems like a truly palatable and finger-licking treat, April! When preparing this recipe, do you use ground or powdered cinnamon?
Ground—but either one would work, so use what you have in the cupboard! Please come back and tell us how your recipe turned out?
This sounds delicious! I always love reading your recipes then trying them out, you make it easy to follow and fun!
Thank you so much! You just made my day!
These sound delicious I love creme brulee, will have to try baking these! Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Thank you for your comment! Please let us know how it works out!!
Jess, if you love creme brûlée, then you will go nuts over these! They truly are easy and so delicious! A wonderful alternative to pumpkin pie!
Hi. I too love creme brûlée and can’t wait to try this recipe. I noticed that you list “egg yokes” in the list of ingredients but the directions refer to egg “whites”. Will you confirm which is correct? Thank you!
Hi Michelle! Ms April has been trying to reply.. but something didn’t post. Anyway she says sorry for the boo boo, it’s egg yolks! Happy baking!
Not sure my reply posted—so am trying again. My mistake in typing! Definitely egg YOLKS! Thanks for catching my mistake…we will correct that right away!