Creamy pumpkin custard is accentuated by pumpkin pie spice and vanilla bean and topped with crackling bruleed sugar in this Pumpkin Creme Brulee. This dessert makes an elegant ending to any holiday dinner party!
Slice the vanilla bean in half and scrape out the caviar from inside the bean; reserve the bean.
In a medium saucepan, heat the cream, vanilla bean and scraped caviar, milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves over medium heat, stirring occasionally, just until it comes to a boil. Immediately turn off the heat and set aside to infuse at least 15 minutes. Remove bean from cream mixture.
In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks with 1/2 cup granulated sugar. Whisking constantly, gradually pour in the hot cream mixture. Whisk in the pumpkin puree. Pour the mixture into 4 ovenproof ramekins and arrange in a hot water bath.
Bake in the center of the oven until almost set but still a bit soft in the center, 40-50 minutes. The custard should "shimmy" a bit when you shake the pan; it will firm up more as it cools. Remove from the water bath and let cool 15 minutes.
Tightly cover each ramekin with plastic wrap, making sure the plastic does not touch the surface of the custard. Refrigerate at least 2 hours, and up to 24 hours.
When ready to serve, preheat a broiler to very hot (or fire up your kitchen torch). Uncover the chilled custards. Pour as much coarse sugar as will fit onto the top of 1 of the custards. Pour off the remaining sugar onto the next custard. Repeat until all the custards are coated. Discard any remaining sugar. Place the ramekins on a baking sheet or in a roasting pan and broil until the sugar is melted and well browned, 1 to 2 minutes. Let cool 1 minute before serving.