Squash-spice crème brûlée pie

Name: Squash-spice crème brûlée pie
Prep time: 2 h
Total time: 2 h
Yield: Makes 6 to 8 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 inch cinnamon stick, broken up; ¼ teaspoon cardamom seeds; 2 pounds butternut squash, more or less; ½ teaspoon ground ginger; ½ star anise; 1 clove; 1 cup heavy cream; 4 egg yolks; ⅓ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, plus more for topping; 2 tablespoons maple syrup; Butter as needed; 2 cups cake crumbs, preferably from pound cake

Preparation info

Makes
6 to 8
servings

Difficulty
Complex
Ready in
2 hr

Appears in

Simple to Spectacular

By Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Mark Bittman

Published 2000

About

This is a crème brûlée “pie,” not a far cry from a traditional American custard-cream pie. You can make it in a regular piecrust, but we use pound cake crumbs (actually those from Sableuse: see our first book), which actually makes things easier and tastier.

Note that there is no bain-marie used for this dish.

Ingredients

¼ teaspoon cardamom seeds
1 inch cinnamon stick, broken up
1

Americas
United States
Dessert
Vegetarian
Pie

Method

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Combine the first 4 ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. Toast, shaking the pan occasionally, until the spices are fragrant, just a minute or two. Add the ginger and grind to a powder in a coffee grinder or spice mill.