Learning To Cook French

Being from the Midwest (and not a big city) French cuisine is hard to find. There is so much to learn about preparing French cuisine that I created this blog to share what I learn.

Tuesday, November 15, 2005

Pumpkin Creme Brulee


A little twist on a classic dessert

Since this is the time of year that squashes are in season, why not add a little to a classic dish. Creme Brulee is a baked custard dessert that is then topped with a hardened layer of burnt sugar, which is what the name of the dish means, "Burnt Sugar". This recipe will make about 2 1/2 5" ramekins, which are baked in a Bain-Marie, or water bath.

Ingrediants Include:

1 Cup Heavy Cream
Pinch of Salt (small pinch)
Pinch of Nutmeg
2 Egg Yolks
3 Tbls Sugar
1/2 Cup Pumpkin

Place the heavy cream, nutmeg and small pinch of salt in a sauce pan and heat on medium heat until it starts to just bubble a little, you don't want to boil it. While you are watching that mix the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl stir until the mixer is a pale yellow in color. Add a little bit of the cream to the yolk mixture, stir together, the poor the yolk mixture back into the pan with the rest of the cream, this technique in called "Tempering". You slowly bring the yolks up to the same temperature of the cream, then add it to the rest of the mixture, this technique prevents curdling. Now add in the pumpkin and stir together, pour through a strainer and then pour out into the ramekins.
Place the ramekins into a retangled baking dish, you can add a small towel on the bottom to prevent the ramekins for sliding around, and then place the dish on a rack in your 350 F oven, and add enough water to come at least half way up the sides of the ramekins. Bake for about an hour and 20-25 minutes until custard is just firm, cool and place into the fridge for about 3 hours to set up.
To finish either use a small kitch blow torch or your broiler and burn a thin layer of sugar on the top of the creme brulee, to make a nice hard layer of caralized sugar.

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