Healthier Crème Brûlée with Pumpkin

Healthier Crème Brûlée?? Absolutely! Crème Brûlée is perhaps one of the most recognizable desserts. And there’s a reason for that. It is a simple dessert with few ingredients and easy to prepare, but it can stand comfortably on a festive table. On the other hand, there is something very comforting about custard cream don’t you agree?. And that caramel coating at the end, with that “crack” when you break it…, I think it’s adorable!

Moreover, Crème Brûlée is amenable to thousands of variations, depending on everyone’s tastes. I personally have made many over the years that I have been involved, and I have found many more on the internet and in books.

Its only downside is its fat… Too much cream and too many yolks, for such a dainty dessert… That’s why I wanted to make a healthier Crème Brûlée, but without losing its character. I’ve seen healthy variations with yogurt, without any dairy, etc., but I don’t know if these preparations can be called Crème Brûlée. We may see some of them in the future, but they will probably have a different name .. 😀

Healthier Crème Brûlée

The healthier Crème Brûlée with pumpkin is made with coconut milk, which has significantly less fat than heavy cream and is suitable for those avoiding lactose. In addition, coconut milk is easier to digest and contains less cholesterol than cream. It has fewer calories and much less saturated fat. Importantly, it gives the same texture to Crème Brûlée as cream does, unlike other substitutes.

Furthermore, the pumpkin added in this recipe makes this Crème Brûlée even healthier, since it is a nutritional bomb. You may read more on pumpkin’s properties, on this article.

Baking instructions

A dessert as classy as Crème Brûlée would certainly have its requirements in preparation. Nothing difficult though, it just doesn’t take any shortcuts. Crème Brûlée definitely needs to be baked in a bain-marie (water bath). To do this you will need to put the ramekins in a deep pan and fill it with hot water up to the middle of the dishes, being careful not to wet the creams. This process will help them cook evenly, without cracking.

The ramekins you use for Crème Brûlée matter, and they can affect the baking process. In shallow and wide ramekins, like the ones in the photos, Crème Brûlée cooks faster, while in deep and narrow ones, like those for a soufflé for example, your cream may need to cook a lbit longer.

Caramelizing the sugar

First of all, you should sprinkle the sugar evenly over the entire surface of the cream. When you start to blow torch, you have to move it constantly, so that you don’t burn the sugar. Dark caramel brown is the color we want.

Caramelizing without blow torch

If you don’t have a blow torch, preheat the broiler to high heat, and place the creams near the fire. Bake 2-3 minutes until the sugar turns a dark caramel brown, without burning.

Print Recipe

Healthier Crème Brûlée with Pumpkin

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desserts, – french

Serves: 5

Prep Time: 10 minutes – Cooking Time: 30 minutes – Total Time: 40 minutes

Healthier Crème Brûlée with Pumpkin, one of the most recognizable and classy desserts, in a healthier version.

Ingredients

• 400g steamed (cooked) pumpkin
• 300ml canned coconut milk
• 4 egg yolks
• 70g brown sugar
• 1 vanilla pod, or 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon cloves
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• more brown sugar, for coating

Instructions

1

Puree the pumpkin with the coconut milk in the food processor.

2

Beat the egg yolks with the sugar and vanilla in a bowl, until they become frothy and white.

3

Add the pumpkin-coconut mixture and the spices and mix well.

4

Divide the mixture into the remekins, place them in a deep pan and carefully pour hot water up to the middle of the ramekins.

5

Bake in a preheated oven, at 160o C, for about 30 minutes, until the cream is cooked, but the center trembles a little when shaked.

6

Allow the creams to cool completely and then refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

7

When it's time to serve, sprinkle each cream evenly with 1 full tablespoon sugar and caramelize with the blowtorch (instructions in the description).

8

Alternatively, preheat the grill to high heat, and place the ramekins near the fire. Bake for 2-3 minutes until the sugar acquires the dark brown color of caramel, without burning.

9

Serve immediately.

Nutrition

• 472 Calories
• 26.4g Carbohydrates
• 987mg Cholesterol
• 35.8g Fat
• 3.6g Fiber
• 15g Protein
• 20.4g Saturated fat
• 55mg Sodium
• 18.7g Sugar
• 15.4g Unsaturated fat

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