Pumpkin Crème brûlée

Sometimes you read a recipe and it just kicks you in the butt. Or just takes you from the shoulders and shakes you or shouts in your ear: "YOU HAVE TO MAKE ME"!! 

As if this recipe has a life and a mind of it's own, not to mention a will of it's own. 

This happened when i read a recipe for pumpkin creme brullee from Chef Eddy Van Damme. I had to make it and had to make it as soon as possible, possible tha same day.. Do not know what it was that really made this recipe for me to be so special. I mean i love pumpkin and it is pumpkin season and have blanced pieces in the freezer to make soups etc but the creme brulle is not my favorite desert. Too many eggs and cream and a cream custard is just a cream custard when it comes down to it. 

But the addition of the pumpkin and the pumpkin tuile take it all to a new level.. refined, airy and full of different textures and tastes… subtle, silky and yet with a distinct character that cannot go unnoticed.. 

So, let's get down to business…  but before i have to make a comment about the fact that the recipe asks for pumpkin puree. In USA it is easy to find canned puree and it has the right consistency and richness. Here in Greece we have to make our own. What i would suggest is take pumpkin, cut it in half, remove seeds and pulp and cover with aluminum foil. Bake in a preheated oven (170 C) for an hour or until tender. Scrape the "meat" and blend in a food processor. Now, in my case and since i had blanced pieces of pumpkin i put them in a pot and simmered in low heat till tender. Blended it and passed through a sieve. Since the puree was still runny i let it thick some more in a pot simmering in low heat for another 20 minutes… 

From now on i will be using the baked method for storing pumpkin in the freezer as it takes a lot less space and has a lot less water in it… 

The recipe of Cheff Eddy makes many many brulee but since i only use small 100ml ramekins i only made one third of the recipe.. With it i make 4 servings..

Ingredients:

3 egg yolks (60 gr)

70 g sugar

120g pumpkin puree

220g whipping cream

1,5g cinnamon

0,5g cardamon

0,5g ginger dried

1g salt

2g orange zest

Beat the eggs and sugar. Do not overbeat cause it makes a frothy layer on the brulee and it is not nice. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir. Put the mixture in the ramekins. Put the ramekins in a pan with high sides. Preheat the oven at 160C. Put the pan with the ramekins in the oven and add water in the pan to come up to 2/3 of the sides of the ramekin. Bake until the center is not wobbly. In my case it took 20-25 minutes. Cool and refrigerate. 30 minutes before serving take it out of the fridge and at the last minute you put some granulated sugar on top and caramelize it with a blow torch. 

Serve with a puking tuile… recipe for that follows

100g glucose

120g pumpkin puree

15g flour

150g powdered sugar

75g melted butter

Melt glucose in a saucepan but not boil. Add the puree and shift in the flour with the sugar. Finally incorporate the butter and add some spices like cinnamon, ginger etc. Spread the mixture as thin as possible on a baking sheet. Bake at 190C until edges start turning light brown. DO NOT overbake. Also it is a miracle watching the dough fluff up and then collapse and tiny holes start forming as sugar caramelizes… BEAUTY! Store in an airtight container but make only as many as you need. The rest of the batter can be frozen for later use…