Pumpkin Maple Crème Caramel

Taste

Crème caramel is a baked custard turned out of its dish so that the caramel it baked on becomes the sauce. This version uses roasted pumpkin purée, which makes the custard denser and deeper in colour, closer to the filling of a very smooth pumpkin pie than to the classic. The pumpkin is an orange pie pumpkin from Courges & Cie: pie pumpkins have sweeter, drier, less stringy flesh than the big carving kind. Dark maple syrup from Ferme St-Ours, which has a stronger, more caramelised flavour than amber, sweetens the custard, and St-Père cream from Laiterie des trois vallées makes it rich. A little cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg give it a gentle spice that doesn’t hide the maple.

Plan ahead: The custards need at least 6 hours in the fridge, or better still overnight, to set firmly and for the caramel to turn liquid. You can roast the pumpkin up to 3 days before.

Instructions

1. Roast the pumpkin. Heat the oven to 200 °C (400 °F). Cut the pumpkin in half from stem to base and scoop out the seeds and strings. Lay the halves cut side down on a parchment-lined baking sheet and roast until the flesh is completely soft when pierced with a knife, 40–45 minutes. Let them cool until you can handle them. ⏱︎ 45 min

2. Purée the pumpkin. Scoop the flesh away from the skin and blend or mash it until completely smooth. If the purée looks wet, stir it in a saucepan over medium heat until it’s thick enough to hold its shape on a spoon. Then weigh out 250 g (1 cup) and keep the rest for another use. Lower the oven to 160 °C (325 °F) and put a kettle of water on to boil.

3. Make the caramel. Set eight ramekins of about 175 ml (¾ cup) in a roasting pan or deep baking dish. Put the sugar and the 60 ml of water in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat and stir just until the sugar dissolves. Then stop stirring and let it boil, swirling the pan now and then, until it turns a deep amber, 8–10 minutes. Watch it closely at the end: it goes from amber to burnt quickly. Working fast, pour it into the ramekins and tilt each one so the caramel covers the bottom. Careful: the caramel is extremely hot. It will harden as it cools; that’s expected. ⏱︎ 10 min

4. Make the custard. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and egg yolks just until combined, without making them foamy. Whisk in the pumpkin purée, then the milk, cream, maple syrup, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, vanilla and salt. Pour the mixture through a fine sieve into a jug, pressing it through with a spatula, so the custard is perfectly smooth.

5. Bake in a water bath. Divide the custard between the ramekins. Put the pan in the oven, then carefully pour boiling water from the kettle into the pan until it comes halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake until the custards are set at the edges but still wobble slightly in the centre when you nudge the pan, 30–35 minutes. A knife inserted halfway between the edge and the centre should come out clean. ⏱︎ 35 min

6. Cool and chill. Lift the ramekins out of the water and let them cool to room temperature on a rack. Cover them and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, or overnight.

7. Turn them out. Run a thin knife around the inside of each ramekin, pressing against the dish rather than the custard. Set a small plate with a slight rim upside down over the ramekin, flip them over together, and give a gentle shake: the custard should drop onto the plate with the caramel sauce running over it. Scrape any remaining caramel from the ramekin over the top, and serve cold.

Tips

• Make ahead: The custards keep in their ramekins, covered, for up to 3 days in the fridge. Turn them out just before serving.
• Shortcut: Use 250 g (1 cup) of plain canned pumpkin purée instead of roasting a pumpkin. Make sure it isn’t pumpkin pie filling, which is already sweetened and spiced.
• Leftover pumpkin: The rest of the purée keeps for 4 days in the fridge. Stir it into oatmeal, pancake batter or a soup.
• Other squash: Roasted butternut or red kuri squash both work in place of pumpkin, with a slightly sweeter result.
• Cleaning up: Hardened caramel in the saucepan dissolves if you fill the pan with water and bring it to a boil.