Silky baked custard made with pumpkin purée and warm spices, chilled and finished with a crackly torched-sugar top.
Before you start: set out four 6 oz ramekins and a roasting pan they fit in. A thin, even sugar layer caramelizes better than a thick one.
Make ahead: the baked custards keep 2 days covered in the fridge. Torch them just before serving.
Ingredients
Scale
Measurement units
- ¾ cup pumpkin purée (unsweetened, not pie filling)
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream
- ½ cup whole milk
- 5 large egg yolks
- ½ cup granulated sugar (divided)
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ⅛ tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp fine salt
Ingredients
Scale
Measurement units
- ¾ cup pumpkin purée (unsweetened, not pie filling)
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream
- ½ cup whole milk
- 5 large egg yolks
- ½ cup granulated sugar (divided)
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ⅛ tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp fine salt
Instructions
Heat the oven and set up
Heat the oven to 325°F and bring a kettle of water to a boil.
Set the four ramekins in the roasting pan.
Equipment: four 6 oz ramekins, roasting pan
Warm the pumpkin cream
In the saucepan, whisk together heavy cream (1 ½ cups), milk (½ cup), pumpkin purée (¾ cup), cinnamon (1 tsp), ginger (½ tsp), nutmeg (¼ tsp) and cloves (⅛ tsp).
Heat over medium, whisking now and then, until steaming with small bubbles at the edge, about 6 minutes. Don't let it boil.
Equipment: medium saucepan, whisk and bowl
Temper the yolks
In a bowl, whisk egg yolks with sugar (¼ cup) until pale and slightly thick.
Slowly pour the hot pumpkin cream into the yolks in a thin stream, whisking constantly.
Whisk in vanilla (1 tsp) and salt (¼ tsp).
Equipment: whisk and bowl
Strain and fill
Pour the custard through the fine-mesh strainer into a large measuring cup, pressing it through with a spatula.
Divide it evenly among the ramekins and skim off any foam on top.
Equipment: fine-mesh strainer, four 6 oz ramekins
Bake in a water bath
Set the roasting pan on the oven rack and pour hot water from the kettle into the pan until it comes halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
Bake until the edges are set, the centers still jiggle slightly when nudged and an instant-read thermometer in the center reads 170°F, about 25 minutes.
Equipment: roasting pan, instant-read thermometer
Cool
Lift the ramekins out of the water bath and let them cool on a rack, about 30 minutes.
Equipment: four 6 oz ramekins
Chill
Cover and refrigerate until cold and fully set, at least 4 hours or up to 2 days.
Brûlée and serve
Blot any moisture from the tops with a paper towel, then sprinkle sugar (¼ cup) evenly over the four custards in a thin layer.
Hold the torch 2 to 3 inches above the sugar and move it in small circles until the sugar melts and turns deep amber.
Let the tops harden briefly, then serve.
Equipment: kitchen torch
Tomorrow's Meal
Pumpkin Custard Parfaits with Skillet Caramel Apples
Leftover un-torched custard layered with warm butter-caramelized apples from the skillet and crushed gingersnaps.
You'll need to pick up:
1 apple, diced1 tbsp butter1 tbsp brown sugarpinch of cinnamon4 gingersnap cookies, crushed
Quick overview:
- 1.Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat
- 2.Add the apple, brown sugar and cinnamon and cook 5 to 6 minutes, stirring, until tender and caramelized
- 3.Spoon the chilled custard into glasses
- 4.Top with the warm apples and crushed gingersnaps
Before you cook
Cook notes
- • Before you start: set out four 6 oz ramekins and a roasting pan they fit in.
- • Make ahead: the baked custards keep 2 days covered in the fridge. Torch them just before serving.
- • A thin, even sugar layer caramelizes better than a thick one.
- • Save the egg whites for meringues or an omelet; they keep 4 days in the fridge or 3 months frozen.
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