Pumpkin Creme Brulee

If you like crème brulee and pumpkin pie then you will love this recipe as much as I do. This recipe is actually from a cookbook I own that is all about crème brulee. This recipe is my favorite crème brulee recipe ever! It is smooth and creamy, like having your own personal pumpkin pie, but instead of whip cream on top it has a nice caramelized sugar crust on top. Yum!!

This recipe is the perfect addition to a thanksgiving table or even after the fact, ok really it’s good any ol time.

The book is called Crème Brulee the Bonjour Way, by Randolph W. Mann. It has some other great recipes from raspberry white chocolate to pina’ colada flavored crème brulee recipes.

One thing that deterred me a little the first time I made crème brulee was the using a torch to caramelize the sugar. First off, I was like where the heck to I get a torch and second I was afraid of burning it. Here are a few tips.
1. Most cooking supply stores have brulee torches, but they are spendy (about $35-$50). Most discount tool and supply stores will have small butane torches for a much cheaper price. I think I paid about $5 for mine. I bought a bottle of butane for a few bucks and I am set for a very long time.
2. To brulee the sugar, turn the torch on mid-high to high and just closely run the torch over the sugar until it is evenly browned and bubbly.
3. If you don’t have a torch you can use your broiler. This can be a little tricky, but if you keep a close eye on the brulee’s they will be fine. Move the oven rack to the very top rung of your oven. Preheat your broiler to 450. Make sure your crème brulee is very cold before doing this method. Take each dish and place directly under the broiler. Keep under just until the sugar is brown and bubbly, rotate dishes as needed. You do not want to keep the under the heat too long or your will melt the crème and have to refrigerate it again.


Ingredients:
¼ cup pumpkin
¼ cup sour cream
3 egg yolks
2 tbs granulated sugar
1/8 tsp allspice
1/8 tsp cinnamon
Generous pinch of nutmeg
Pinch of salt
½ cup of heavy cream
6 tbs brulee sugar or granulated sugar – to make brulee sugar, blend 3 tbs each of light brown and granulated sugar together.





Directions:Preheat oven to 300. In small mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients except for the heavy cream. Stir the pumpkin mixture with a small whisk or spoon for a full minute. Set aside.
Put the heavy cream in a saucepan and stir while heating, just to point of boiling. Whisk the hot cream into the pumpkin mixture in small amounts until all is blended, stirring for a full minute.

Pour the mixture through a fine strainer into another bowl or large measuring cup. Take 4 (4 ounce) ramekins and fill with pumpkin mixture then place in a hot water bath.
Note: for the hot water bath, take a 13x9 cake pan and place in the center of the oven rack. Pour enough hot (almost boiling) water to fill dish about half way. Make sure dish is in the center of the oven.
Bake for 35-40 minutes or until centers are softly set.

Cool the ramekins in the hot water bath until comfortable to handle. Then cover with wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour, but up to two days. When ready to serve, remove from fridge and sprinkle 1 ½ tsp sugar on top of each brulee. Swirl dish around to make sure the top is evenly coated with sugar. Torch to caramelize.