Email to Cat      

Thanksgiving: Pumpkin Crème Caramel

Source of Recipe

From "Cold Weather Cooking" by Sarah Leah Chase


Recipe Introduction

"For some reason I have an adversity to pumpkin pie, so I am forever conjuring up alternatives. This one is quite elegant, even though I have never had much luck getting all of that caramel coating to come out when I invert the dessert. Inevitably, there is a nice hard coating of caramel glued to the bottom of the mold. Rather than wrestle with the stuff with a soapy scouring pad, I stab it hard with a blunt knife to loosen it and break it up into praline-like shards. This is an excellent form of stress release, and the shards look stunning sprinkled all over and around the crème caramel."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ 1 cup granulated sugar
â—¦ ¼ cup water
â—¦ ¾ cup chopped lightly toasted macadamia nuts
â—¦ ½ cup (packed) light brown sugar
â—¦ 1 cup pumpkin purée, fresh or canned
â—¦ â…“ cup orange-flavored liqueur
â—¦ 1 teaspoon grated nutmeg
â—¦ 1 teaspoon ground ginger
â—¦ 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
â—¦ 6 large eggs
â—¦ 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
â—¦ 3 cups half-and-half, scalded
â—¦ 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk


Recipe

Preheat the oven to 350° F.

In a small saucepan combine the granulated sugar and the water. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Continue to boil, without stirring, until the mixture turns golden brown, about 5 minutes. Watch carefully to avoid burning. Pour the hot caramel immediately into a 2-quart ring mold. Sprinkle with the macadamia nuts and tilt to coat the sides of the mold. Set aside.

Using an electric mixer, beat together the brown sugar, pumpkin, liqueur, nutmeg, ginger, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Gradually beat in the eggs, cream cheese, scalded half-and-half, and condensed milk. Beat until very smooth, 4 to 5 minutes. Pour the mixture into the ring mold.

Place the mold in a larger baking pan and pour in enough hot water to come 1 inch up the side of the mold. Bake until firm and set, 50 to 60 minutes. Cool 1 hour, then refrigerate overnight.

Run the tip of a small knife around the side of the custard to loosen it. Dip the bottom part of the mold briefly in a shallow dish of very hot water to loosen the caramel. Invert quickly onto a serving plate. Pry any caramel remaining in the mold loose by jabbing it forcefully with a blunt knife. (Beware of flying shards.) Sprinkle the pieces of caramel over the custard. Serve the custard in slices. For an even richer dessert, the slices may be placed on top of a smooth fruit sauce, such as raspberry or cranberry, or served in a pool of liqueur-spiked crème anglaise.

Makes 8 to 10 servings