No Bake Pumpkin Pie Creme Brulee Recipe

My no bake pumpkin pie creme brulee recipe involves no water baths and no baking: just a simple cream cooked on the stove in a few minutes.

This pumpkin pie creme brulee combines the flavours of smooth, gently-spiced pumpkin pie filling with the super creaminess of creme brulee, along with the crunchy caramelised sugar top. And, unlike traditional creme brulee, my no bake creme brulee is cooked in a saucepan.

The only waiting time really is the chilling, as this no bake dessert is best served chilled. You can, in theory, sprinkle the sugar over the pumpkin creme straight away after spooning it into the pot, but the sugar will dissolve a little more while the creme's still unset and might result in a less crunchy caramel top. You'll also be eating it warm, which isn't a bad thing – but I think the creamy flavours of this dessert are best when chilled.

There's no 'pie' part to this pumpkin pie creme brulee, meaning no crust. But this dessert is also nice served with biscuits on the side (think digestive or shortbread) – so that could be your makeshift deconstructed 'pie crust' if you fancy a bit of extra crunch.

You can also watch me make this pumpkin creme brulee on YouTube:

Ready? Let's go.

(Makes four no bake pumpkin pie creme brulees.)

Ingredients:

300ml double cream
100g pumpkin puree
4 egg yolks
70g caster sugar
20g cornflour
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
Pinch of ground nutmeg
Pinch of ground ginger
1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste
Additional 4 heaped tsp caster sugar

Method:

1. Whisk the double cream, pumpkin puree and egg yolks together in a bowl, followed by the 70g caster sugar, cornflour, spices and vanilla.

2. Pour into a saucepan, and cook over a medium heat, stirring continuously (easiest with a balloon whisk to make sure it's smooth). Cook until it turns into a very thick custard, about 5–10 minutes.

3. Spoon into four ramekins (I used 150ml size ramekins), tap lightly on the counter to knock out air bubbles and use the back of a spoon to smooth the top.

4. Leave to cool completely before popping in the fridge to chill overnight.

5. The next day, evenly sprinkle a teaspoonful of caster sugar on top of each of them, and caramelise with a cook's blowtorch or under the grill.

6. Cool for about two minutes and serve immediately after.

Enjoy, and have fun.