- May 4, 2024
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There’s something special about watching people cook, whether you’re comfortable in the kitchen or not. For me, sitting at a kitchen counter is like watching art being created.
I don’t get to do this often, but this week I had the pleasure of watching a friend create a delicious dish: pumpkin crème brulee.
Jesse Stahl is not a cook by profession; in fact, he is just temporarily living in Palm Coast while he works on a clinical internship at Grand Oaks for his master’s degree in occupational therapy. For him, cooking is a hobby. And when it comes to desserts, he doesn’t bake cakes or pies, he goes straight for what some people would consider the tough stuff.
Crème brulee requires great attention to detail, but for Jesse, who has been making it for almost 10 years, it’s easy.
“You can be creative and make it whatever you want, change a little thing about the recipe and make it your own,” he said, as he scoured the kitchen for ground ginger. “And if it doesn’t turn out right, just say that’s how it was supposed to be.”
We never found the ginger, so pumpkin pie spice acted as the alternative for this particular batch.
Onto the heat the spiced cream mixture went. Heating dairy is usually something I try to stay away from, as there is a fine line between heating too little and heating too much. This is one of the crème brulee elements that makes the dish difficult. But as long as you don’t get distracted, and keep watch, it should be OK.
Following the rest of the recipe steps, most of which Jesse was reading from the pages in his memory, four water-bath soaking ramekins entered the oven. The delectable desserts took longer than expected to cook, but after almost an hour, probably because the pumpkin made it more moist, they were ready to be transferred to the freezer for cooling.
Usually you want two to 24 hours for the custard to chill and set in the fridge. But we were anxious, so into the freezer they went for maybe 30 minutes. Then a light topping of brown sugar was added, and since we didn’t have a torch, something I will one day have in my kitchen, Jesse slid them back into the oven on broil for a couple of minutes, until a caramel-color crust bubbled on the surface.
Anxiously, and not waiting like we were supposed to, we dug in, cracking the topping as the still hot custard oozed out. It was delicious. But I saved some to be eaten the next day, the proper way.
Even better!
Pumpkin Crème Brulee
What you need:
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
½ cup whole milk – can substitute with low-fat milk
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
2 pinches nutmeg
1 pinch ginger
1 pinch ground glove
4 egg yolks
½ cup sugar
¼ can(8 ounce) pumpkin puree
Brown sugar
What to do:
Heat cream, milk and spices over medium heat to boil. Set aside for 15 minutes.
In a medium bowl, whisk eggs and sugar together. When cream mixture is cool, mix that in also. Make sure to let it cool enough so that you don’t cook your eggs by accident.
Add pumpkin.
Pour into ramekins and place into a rectangular cake pan with a water bath. Bake for 30-60 minutes.
Check every 10 minutes after 30. The dish should be a little loose, but not runny. Cool in the refrigerator for at least two hours, up to three days. It’s best after 24 hours.
Remove the crème brulee from the fridge 30 minutes before serving.
Sprinkle brown sugar over top and caramelize with either a torch or in the broiler until there is a crisp layer on top. Allow the creme brulee to sit for at least 5 minutes before serving.
