The BEST Pumpkin Spice Crème Brûlée

I know that Pie and Turkey are the Gold standard for Thanksgiving, but that doesn’t mean that you are stuck to these food categories! We have some plates that have become traditional in our household – simply because we LOVE them.

Let’s start with Dessert. We are huge fans of crème brûlée.  Not only is it custardy and smooth, it is super fun to type out with all those French accents that you don’t get with pie.  Well, unless you eat it à la mode.

Crème brûlée is the perfect dish to make ahead, minus the impressive sugar torching. Make it a day or two in advance to lighten your Thanksgiving day load. Then pull them out, top with sugar and torch. This is Mr’s favorite part of the job. I mean, everyone looks super cool torching dessert or lighting it on fire.

(Note please torch your desserts responsibly)

Here is my recipe for Pumpkin Spice Crème Brûlée. It’s one of the few recipes that I have developed that is not primarily used on a body part… although I guess you could do that too? It uses coconut sugar for a lower glycemic index and you can substitute with traditional brown sugar as well. Don’t underestimate the power of freshly grated Nutmeg. It’s worth it! Enjoy!

 

Pumpkin Spice Crème Brûlée

 

1 1/2 cups Heavy Cream

1/2 cup milk or Oatmilk

4 Tbsp Brown Coconut Sugar

1 drop YL Cinnamon Bark Essential oil

1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg (or 1/4 tsp ground)

1/2 tsp freshly grated ginger (or 1/4 tsp ground)

6 large egg yolks separated (keep remaining white for omelettes)

1/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 tsp vanilla extract

pinch of salt

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

Additional fine sugar for torching

 

Let’s Make it

 

The secret to a perfect Crème Brûlée is to temper the egg yolks, and cook it on a sheet with a hot water bath to ensure even cooking of the delicate cream. If you haven’t done this before, don’t stress. I’ll walk you through it here.

 

Gather your ingredients plus a sauce pan, large mixing bowl, sieve, ramekins, and a cookie sheet.

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees

 

In a large saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the heavy cream, milk, coconut sugar, granulated sugar and spices. Cook, stirring, until the mixture is hot and just begins to simmer. Remove from the heat. Add 1 drop Cinnamon Bark Vitality oil and vanilla.

 

Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks in the large mixing bowl. To temper the yolks, you will take the warm cream and SLOWLY drizzle in 1 cup hot cream to the egg yolks while whisking. See, that wasn’t so hard was it? As long as you didn’t ignore me by dumping it all in at once you won’t have scrambled eggs. Whisk in the pumpkin, and then the remaining hot cream.  Place a sieve over your large saucepan and pour your cream back into the pan through the sieve to ensure a smooth consistency.

 

In a second pan, bring a few cups of water to a boil and turn off.

Place the 6 Ramekins on the cookie sheet. Using a ladle, slowly fill the ramekins with the pumpkin cream.

Place the cookie sheet in the oven. Then, using a glass measuring cup, carefully pour the hot water onto the cookie sheet, around the ramekins until the water is halfway up the glass.  When they are done cooking, leave the hot water on the pan.  Use mitts to remove the ramekins from the oven and allow the water to cool before removing the pan.

Bake 28-32 min.  They will be soft with a slight jiggle, as they continue to set after removing from the oven. Remove and cool. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

 

Here’s the fun part

And here’s the fun part! Prior to serving, sprinkle up to 1 tsp fine sugar on the top. Using a torch, fire the sugar until it melts and create a cartelized surface. If you don’t have a torch you can do it under a broiler – but keep a CONSTANT eye on it, because it can turn from liquid caramel to burnt black very quickly! A torch is the best way to go if you can get one!

 

Serve sprinkled with cinnamon and powdered sugar.  Enjoy!