Recipe: 3 Pumpkin Creme Brulee and 1 Tart

Hi Flo,

Here's a recipe for the tart that was posted to a newsgroup. I've also included three pumpkin brulee recipes I found along the way.

Happy Holiday Baking,

Betsy

Forum: rec.food.baking
Date: 1999/10/14
Author: Gaylen D. Cook

Pumpkin Creme Brulee Tart in Pecan Crust
http://food4.epicurious.com/HyperNews/get/archive_swap101-200/157/6.html

Crust

1/2 Cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
6 Tbsp sugar
1 egg yolk
1-1/4 Cups all-purpose flour
1/2 Cup plus 3 Tbsp finely ground pecans
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Filling

8 egg yolks
3/4 Cup sugar
2 Cups whipping cream
1 Cup canned solid pack pumpkin
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground allspice

1/4 Cup packed golden brown sugar
Lightly sweetened shipped cream (opt)

For Crust:

Using electric mixer, beat butter and sugar in bowl until fluffy. Mix in yolk. Combine flour, pecans and nutmeg; add to butter mixture and mix just until dough forms. Shape dough into ball and flatten to disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill at least 3 hours. Can be made 1 day ahead. Soften dough slightly before rolling out.

For Filling:

Whisk yolks and 3/4 Cup sugar in bowl. Bring cream to simmer in small salucepan. Slowly whisk cream into egg mixture.Whisk in pumpkin and spices. Cool 1 hour.

Position rack in center of oven and preheatto 350 degrees. Roll out dough on lightlyfloured surface to thickness of 1/2 inch.Tranfer to 9-inch-diameter tart pan withremoveable bottom. Press dough evenly until it covers pan in 1/4-inch-thick layer; dough is fragile and may break. Press anybroken edges together. Trim edges. Freeze crust 15 minutes.

Line crust with foil. Fill with dried beansor pie weights. Bake until set, about 25minutes. Remove beans and foil and bakecrust until light golden, about 10 minutesmore. Pour filling into crust. Bake until filling is set, about 25 minutes. Tranferto rack and cool. Chill until cold, atleast 2 hours or overnight.

Preheat broiler. Sprinkle 1/4 Cup brownsugar evenly over top of tart. Broil tartabout 6 inches from heat, until sugar meltsand carmelizes, watching closely to avoid burning tart and turning if necessary foreven cooking, about 30 seconds. Serveimmediately with lightly sweetened whippedcream if desired.

Brian Whitmer, Bon Appetit, January, 1993

Forum: rec.food.recipes
Date: 1997/11/16
Author: KAR

I have a helpful hint about "burning" the sugar on top though. I use a hand held propane torch I got at KMart. I also use a mix of brown and white sugars. This is what we use at the restaurant where I work.

Pumpkin Creme Brulee

1 1/4 c Whipping cream
1/2 Vanilla bean, split
5 lg Egg yolks
6 tb Sugar
1 ts Grated nutmeg
1/2 c Solid pack pumpkin
2 tb Orange liqueur
1/4 c Packed brown sugar
1/2 ts Cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350F. Bring cream to boil in heavy saucepan. Remove from heat. Add vanilla bean. Let stand 20 minutes; discard vanilla bean.
Whisk together yolks, 6 tablespoons sugar and nutmeg. Add pumpkin and orange liqueur and mix until smooth. Whisk in cream mixture. Divide custard among 6 1/2 cup ramekins. Arrange ramekins in heavy large baking pan. Add enough hot water to pan to come up halfway up the sides of ramekins. Bake until sides are set but centers move slightly when shaken, about 20 minutes. Remove from water bath and cool. Refrigerate one hour.

Preheat broiler. Sift brown sugar and cinnamon into small bowl. Sprinkle over custards. Broil 8 inches from heat source until sugar begins to melt, watching carefully, about 30 seconds. Serve
immediately.

Westmoreland Bistro Pumpkin Creme Brulee
Yield: 6 Servings

3/4 c Canned pumpkin
2 1/4 c Whipping cream
1 ea Vanilla bean, split in half
7 ea Egg yolks
1 c Granulated sugar; divided
1 ts Ground cinnamon
1/2 ts Ground nutmeg
1/2 ts Ground allspice
1 tb Chopped crystallized ginger

Caprial Pence, co-owner and chef at Westmoreland Bistro, included the recipe for this special holiday dessert in her latest cookbook,
"Caprial's Cafe". This will be a nice change from pumpkin pie for Christmas.

In a heavy saucepan over medium temperature, heat the pumpkin puree, cream and vanilla bean halves to a boil and set aside.

Place the egg yolks and 1/2 cup of the sugar in a medium stainless steel bowl (or the top of a double boiler) and place the bowl over a pot of barely simmering water. Whisk constantly until the mixture forms a ribbon when you lift the whisk, about 6 or 8 minutes. Be careful not to scramble the egg mixture.

Slowly whisk in hot pumpkin mixture to the egg mixture and stirring frequently, cook over medium heat until the mixture has the
consistency of softly whipped cream, 40 to 50 minutes. Add the
cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and ginger and mix well. Pour into 6
custard cups and refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight.

When ready to serve, sprinkle each custard with 4 teaspoons sugar and place under a preheated broiler for 2 or 3 minutes or until sugar is browned. Serve immediately.

Makes 6 servings

Source: Chef Caprial Pence, Westmoreland Bistro as printed in the Oregonian FoodDay 1995
Typos by Dorothy Flatman

Forum: rec.food.cooking
Date: 1995/10/13
Author: Nancy Dooley

Easy Pumpkin Creme Brulee

2 C. whipping cream or half and half
1 1/2 T. dark rum
5 egg yolks
1 C. canned pumpkin
1/3 C. sugar
1 tsp. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground mace
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 C. sugar

For custard, in heavy medium saucepan, bring the whipping cream or half and half and rum to boiling. Remove from heat.

In a bowl, beat together the egg yolks, pumpkin, 1/3 C. sugar, cornstarch, spices and salt. Gradually beat in hot cream mixture.

Divide custard among six 6-oz. ramekins or custard cups. Place baking dishes in a large baking pan and pour in enough HOT water to come halfway up the sides of the baking dishes.

Bake in 350 deg. F. oven for about 40 minutes or until custard is set. Remove from water and cool completely. Cover with clear plastic wrap and chill overnight. (Can be prepared 2 days in advance.)

For topping, place 1/2 C. sugar in a heavy medium-size skillet over medium-high heat until sugar begins to melt, shaking skillet occasionally to heat sugar evenly. Do not stir. Reduce heat to low; cook until sugar is melted and golden (about 5 minutes more). Stir as necessary after the sugar begins to melt.

Working quickly, pour enough of the caramel mixture over each custard to almost cover the top. Tilt the dishes so the caramel mixture will cover the custard completely. Refrigerate for up to 12 hours before serving. Makes 6 servings.

"A cheerful look makes a dish a feast"...Herbert, Jacula Prudentum