Elevate your Thanksgiving dessert from pumpkin pie to pumpkin pie creme brûlée with this easy dessert recipe. This creamy, decadent dessert is just like pumpkin pie, only without the crust. By the time you crack in to that caramelized sugar coating on the top, you will forget all about pie crust!
What is Creme Brûlée
Creme brûlée, which is French for burnt cream, looks and sounds really fancy and may be intimidating to some. It’s actually a pretty simple dessert to prepare and there aren’t a lot of ingredients involved. The classic creme brûlée has only 5 ingredients. Pumpkin pie creme brûlée has 7.
The classic dessert consists of a smooth, creamy custard with a brittle caramelized sugar topping. To adapt this dessert for Thanksgiving, I’ve added some pumpkin pie spice and some pumpkin puree.
How to make creme brûlée
In a saucepan, over medium heat, warm 1 cup heavy cream, 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice, and 1/2 tsp salt, stirring occasionally until it comes to a simmer. Take the cream mixture off the heat and stir in 1 tsp vanilla extract.
Next, whisk together 4 egg yolks and 1/4 cup sugar, then slowly whisk the cream mixture into the egg yolks and sugar. Be sure to add the cream mixture very slowly so that you don’t cook the eggs.
Stir in 1/2 cup pumpkin puree. For a smooth custard, strain the mixture through a fine sieve in to a container with a spout for pouring. Finally, divide the mixture between 4 ramekins.
In order to gently and evenly cook the custard, and to guard against it curdling, the ramekins are baked in a water bath. This just means that you place your ramekins in a larger baking pan and fill it half way up the sides of the ramekins with boiling water.
This method of cooking protects the custard from the direct heat of the oven and keeps the outside of the dessert from over cooking before the center is done. Be sure to add the boiling water to the baking dish when it is in the oven to avoid burning yourself.
Once the ramekins are baked, about 35-40 minutes, or until the centers slightly wiggle when the baking dish is moved, remove the ramekins from the water bath and allow to cool completely. Cover the ramekins and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
How to Brûlée the top
When you’re ready to serve, top each ramekin with a small amount of sugar. Tap the ramekins to spread the sugar over the top in an even layer.
To brûlée the tops and create that crunchy topping, use a kitchen torch or put the ramekins under the broiler. A kitchen torch is my preferred method so that the entire custard isn’t heated up, but if you don’t have one the broiler will caramelize the sugar.
Hold the kitchen torch about 6 inches from the top to evenly caramelize the sugar. Let the sugar cool and harden, then serve!
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Pumpkin Pie Creme Brulee
Ingredients
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 egg yolks
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
- 4 tsp sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees
- In a saucepan, over medium heat, warm the heavy cream, pumpkin pie spice, and salt, stirring occasionally, unit it comes to a simmer
- Turn off the heat and set aside
- Stir in the vanilla extract
- In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar
- Slowly whisk the cream mixture in to the egg yolks and sugar and then stir in the pumpkin puree
- Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a container with a spout for easy pouring
- Divide the mixture in to 4 ramekins and place in a large baking dish
- Put the baking dish in to the oven and fill it half way up the sides of the ramekins with boiling water
- Bake 35-40 minutes (the centers should slightly wiggle when the baking dish is moved)
- Remove the ramekins from the water bath, cool, cover, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours
- When ready to serve, remove ramekins from refrigerator and evenly spread 1 tsp of sugar on each
- Using a kitchen torch, brown the tops using a circular motion, or put ramekins under the broiler until the tops are caramelized
- Allow the sugar to cool and harden before serving
