Get your ramekins ready – it’s time to make homemade Pumpkin Crème Brûlée! With just six simple, inexpensive ingredients and easy to follow steps, making your own crème brûlée has never been easier, or more fall flavored!
Pumpkin Spice Crème Brûlée
Deliciously spiced pumpkin cream filling is topped with a crunchy sugar torched topping. If you love classic crème brûlée and pumpkin spice, you’re going to fall in love with this dessert – it’s the best of both worlds!
This Thanksgiving, I plan on surprising everyone with an array of different desserts. Instead of the same one or two usual pie options, I really want to have a spread of autumnal treats for everyone to choose from!
With that being said, I really think that my cute white ramekins filled with pumpkin crème brûlée will likely be the most popular.
Why You’ll Love this Easy Crème Brûlée Recipe:
- Easy: Don’t let the torch scare you off! Homemade crème brûlée is easy to make and the steps are pretty hassle-free.
- Impressive: Easy as this recipe may be, crème brûlée is always impressive in nature when it’s served.
- Flavorful: Pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice come together to create the most delicious, deep pumpkin spice flavor.
How to Make Pumpkin Crème Brûlée
Be sure to see the recipe card below for full ingredients & instructions!
- Heat the heavy cream.
- Whisk together the egg yolks and sugar.
- Whisk in the warm cream to the egg yolks.
- Stir in the pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla bean paste.
- Divide the mixture evenly between the ramekins.
- Create a water bath.
- Bake.
- Cool.
- Chill.
- Sprinkle sugar over the chilled crème brûlée, then torch it, and enjoy!
Pumpkin Crème Brûlée Ingredients & Notes
- Heavy Cream: Heavy whipping cream must be used in crème brûlée – lower-fat milks won’t set the same way.
- Egg Yolks: Creates a thick, rich custard.
- Sugar: Granulated sugar sweetens the crème brûlée and forms the crisp layer on top.
- Pumpkin: Pumpkin puree adds pumpkin flavor and orange color to the crème brûlée.
- Pumpkin Pie Spice: Adds warmth, earthiness, and classic pumpkin flavor! If you don’t have any, you can substitute ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon and ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg.
- Vanilla Bean Paste: Adds vanilla flavor and little specks of vanilla caviar to the crème brûlée. If you don’t have any, feel free to substitute 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract or the caviar from one vanilla bean.
This classic French dessert is a cream-based treat that’s famously topped with sugar and torched! Known for being a restaurant staple, this timeless dessert is beloved for cracking into with a spoon.
Yes! Simply heat a metal spoon over the stove, then once it’s nice and hot, you can heat the sugar with it and it will caramelize. Be careful not to burn your hands!
I don’t recommend freezing this creamy treat.
It’d be a shame to waste 6 perfectly good egg whites, so plan to make meringue cookies, pavlovas, or macarons!
Grab a spoon and crack into these pumpkin-flavored torched treats! This is a Thanksgiving dessert that your family will be talking about all year long, well after turkey day’s over.
Don’t be afraid to try this easy crème brûlée recipe. This classic dessert is so easy to make at home, and so much more affordable than those you’ll find on restaurant menus.
Recipe Tips and Notes
- Although you can use a warm spoon, a kitchen torch will get the job done much easier when it comes to making that perfect crunchy topping.
- Only use white granulated sugar on top of the crème brûlée! No other sugar will caramelize quite the same way.
- Be VERY careful with the water bath! We don’t want even a drop of water to get into the ramekins and ruin the consistency.
Can I use pumpkin pie filling instead of pumpkin puree?
No, it’s best to stick with plain pumpkin puree. Pumpkin pie filling is sweetened already, which will make the base of this dessert far too sugary.
How can I make a DIY pumpkin pie spice to use in this recipe?
Use my favorite recipe for Homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice!
Can I add cinnamon to the crème brûlée topping?
Of course! Just don’t add too much. You’ll want the topping to still mainly be sugar, that way it caramelizes perfectly.
Impress everyone this Thanksgiving with a dessert so delicious, it might just receive more compliments than the turkey itself!
If you make this recipe be sure to leave us a comment or rating. Enjoy!
Pumpkin Crème Brûlée Recipe
Ingredients
- 2¾ cups heavy whipping cream 624 grams
- 6 large egg yolks 84 grams
- 1¼ cups granulated sugar 250 grams, divided
- 1 cup pumpkin puree 227 grams
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice 3 grams
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste 4 grams
Equipment
- Kitchen Scale (optional)
- 8 Ramekins
- Kitchen Torch (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Add the heavy cream to a small saucepan set over medium heat. Heat just until the cream begins to steam, but make sure it doesn’t boil!2¾ cups heavy whipping cream
- In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and 1 cup sugar. Whisk until the egg yolks are pale yellow, about 2 minutes.6 large egg yolks, 1¼ cups granulated sugar
- Slowly whisk in the hot cream, stirring constantly, so the eggs don’t scramble.1 cup pumpkin puree, 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- Add the pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla bean paste. Whisk to combine.
- Divide the mixture between 8 (6-ounce) ramekins and place the ramekins in a baking dish. Fill the dish with water until it reaches halfway up the ramekins.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the crème brûlée are fully set in the center.
- Remove from the oven and allow the crème brûlée to cool to room temperature. Once at room temperature, transfer them to the refrigerator to chill for at least 4 hours.
- To serve, sprinkle 1-2 teaspoons of granulated sugar over the crème brûlée and toast the top with a kitchen torch. The key to an even brûlée is to hold the torch a few inches away from the top of the brûlée and move it in a circular motion around the ramekin.
Notes
- Although you can use a warm spoon, a kitchen torch will get the job done much easier when it comes to making that perfect crunchy topping.
- Only use white granulated sugar on top of the crème brûlée! No other sugar will caramelize quite the same way.
- Be VERY careful with the water bath! We don’t want even a drop of water to get into the ramekins and ruin the consistency.
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