Easy Pumpkin Creme Brulee Recipe

This easy PUMPKIN CREME BRÛLÉE takes just minutes to make. Rich, creamy and topped with a caramelized sugar shell, it’s a decadent dessert alternative to pumpkin pie this holiday season. 

I am SO excited to share this pumpkin creme brûlée recipe with you! It’s ridiculously easy to make, and believe me, it is out of this world. It’s seriously my new favourite dessert ever.

Easy Pumpkin Creme Brûlée

You know I’m crazy for anything pumpkin and I’m obsessed with creme brûlée, right? Well, pumpkin creme brûlée is totally the best of both worlds! It tastes like pumpkin pie, but it has the crunchy, burnt sugar topping of creme brûlée, and it’s insanely delicious.

I first fell in love with Pumpkin Creme Brûlée last fall when a local restaurant featured it on their menu throughout the month of October. I was devastated when pumpkin season came to an end, and I swore I’d recreate the recipe at home one day. Having never made any type of creme brûlée before however, it seemed like a bit of a pipe dream.

Easy Alternative to Pumpkin Pie

Well, recently I discovered how easy creme brûlée is to make when I made this espresso creme brûlée, so I decided to try making pumpkin creme brûlée for dessert for my family’s Thanksgiving dinner. (In Canada we celebrate Thanksgiving in October in case you were wondering).

It was a HUGE hit. This pumpkin creme brûlée will impress the heck out of your guests, and it’s such a simple dessert to make for up to 10 people. It looks so fancy but it’s WAY easier than making a pie or some other fussy dessert. Plus, it’s pretty fun to bust out the blow torch to put the finishing touch on dessert right in front of your guests.

Watch the video at the bottom of the post to see how I torch my creme brûlée.

A slightly different texture than traditional creme brûlée

The texture of pumpkin creme brûlée is lighter and fluffier than traditional creme brûlée. It’s made with cream and egg yolks just like traditional creme brûlée, but because of the pumpkin puree, it’s more like a mousse-custard than a silky custard.

I honestly think pumpkin creme brûlée is my favourite creme brûlée yet, and that’s saying a lot because traditional creme brûlée is literally my favourite dessert on the planet.

No need to heat the cream and temper the eggs

This pumpkin creme brûlée recipe is really quick and easy to make because you don’t have to heat the cream and temper the eggs. You just whisk your ingredients in a bowl, pour into ramekins and bake.

You can make it in advance

And one more thing: you can make pumpkin creme brûlée up to 3 days ahead of time. How awesome is that? Just keep it covered in the fridge, and save the torching ’til you’re ready to serve it.

Serves 10

I use an assortment of small ramekin dishes which I fill with about 3 oz of the creme brûlée filling, and I get 10 servings from this recipe. I could fill my ramekins a little fuller, it would mean fewer servings, and 10 servings means there are always a few leftovers for the next day. Wink, wink.

Ok! Let’s make pumpkin creme brûlée!

Feel free to double this recipe if you are serving more people, or if you’re using larger ramekins.

How to Make Pumpkin Creme Brûlée

Ingredients:

• 3 egg yolks
• 1 cup pure pumpkin pureé (not pie filling)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup heavy cream (also known as whipping cream or 35% cream)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp allspice
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup white sugar for the topping (approx 1 tsp per ramekin)

Making your Creme Brûlée

To begin, preheat your oven to 325ºF and boil a kettle of water for your water bath.

Prepare your pumpkin mixture:

Separate your eggs, and in a medium size bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and brown sugar.

Add in your pumpkin puree and cream and continue to whisk until smooth.

Then, stir in the cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and salt.

Pour this mixture into your ramekin dishes. I shoot for about the 3/4 mark, leaving a little room at the top.

The water bath:

Place your ramekins in a baking dish and pour your hot kettle water into the dish until it reaches about halfway up your ramekins. This is your water bath, and it will ensure your creme brûlée bakes evenly and prevent the tops of your creme brûlée from splitting.

To prevent your ramekins from sliding around when you’re transporting the dish to the oven, you can line the baking dish with a dishcloth or tea towel before adding the ramekins and hot water.

Bake:

Carefully place the baking dish into a 325º oven and bake for 35 minutes.

Your creme brûlée will jiggle slightly but look set when it’s finished. Don’t be alarmed if you tip the ramekins and see a bit of pumpkin liquid. Once your creme brûlée sets, all will be good in the world.

Allow the ramekins to cool on the counter for 1/2 hour and then transfer them to the fridge to let them chill for a minimum of 4 hours.

Torching your Pumpkin Creme Brûlée:

Take the ramekins out of the fridge a few minutes before torching them. Some say to do this 1/2 hour before serving so the custard comes to room temperature, but I prefer to serve my creme brûlée chilled, so I take mine out just before torching them.

Watch the video below to see how to torch creme brûlée:

Sprinkle an even layer of sugar on top of each creme brûlée, and using a kitchen torch or a blow torch, heat the sugar until it turns a bubbly, dark brown.

Allow the sugar to cool and harden for about 5 minutes before serving.

Then grab a spoon and crack into that delicious, sweet, pumpkin goodness.

How to Reheat Creme Brûlée

Note: Leftover creme brûlée that’s been torched can be refrigerated and retorched. Simply add another thin layer of sugar over the existing topping and torch again.

More of our Favourite Pumpkin Recipes:

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies 

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

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