Savoury butternut squash crème brûlée

A delicious twist on a classic French dish!

This delightful dish is a real showstopper; whenever I serve it, I get exclamations of surprise as people taste the silky-smooth savoury custard, having anticipated something sweet. It’s perfect as part of a lunch menu (I serve it with a side salad) or makes an elegant appetizer course. The brûlées can be prepared and baked up to 24 hours in advance and refrigerated though I would recommend bringing them up to room temperature on the counter or in a low oven before torching and serving so they are not cold. If you enjoy inventive methods of serving squash you might also like my baked butternut squash rounds and my squash, cranberry and feta tarts. As a last note, if you have the opportunity to smoke the squash on a grill or smoker instead of roasting it in the oven, that will add a fantastic depth of flavour to this dish.

Ingredients

• 1/2 small butternut squash
• Few pinches sea salt
• 1 cup (250 mL) heavy (35%) cream
• 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg1 teaspoon maple syrup
• 1 egg + 1 egg yolk
• 2 tablespoons maple sugar or granulated sugar, divided

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400F. Peel, seed and dice squash (pieces should be no bigger than 1/2 inch / 1.25 cm). Measure out 1 cup of diced squash and toss with about a teaspoon of olive oil (remaining squash can be reserved for another dish, covered and refrigerated to cook later).
• Spread squash out in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking tray and sprinkle with a few pinches of salt. Roast for 20-25 minutes, until very tender when pierced with the tip of a sharp knife. Remove squash from oven and reduce heat to 350F.
• While squash is roasting, place 2 one-cup (250 mL) or 4 half-cup (125 mL) oven safe-ramekins in a baking pan.
• Fill a kettle with water and bring it to a boil.
• Place roasted squash, cream, nutmeg and maple syrup in a blender (or use a large measuring cup and an immersion blender). Purée until mixture is very smooth.
• Add egg plus egg yolk and purée again.  
• Carefully pour the custard into the ramekins placed in the baking pan, filling the dishes about three-quarters full. Slide the pan into the oven, leaving the rack extended a bit. Carefully pour enough hot water from the kettle into the baking pan to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins, being careful not to splash any into the ramekins. Gently slide the rack in and close the oven door.
• Bake the crème brûlées for about 22-25 minutes, or until the custards are set around the edges and the centres only jiggle a little when you give the pan a nudge. Remove the pan from the oven and carefully lift the ramekins from the water bath.
• Place the ramekins on a wire rack and let cool for at least an hour at room temperature. If serving within 2 hours, leave on the counter; otherwise put them in the fridge for up to 24 hours. Remove them from the fridge 2 hours before serving so they will come up to room temperature.
• Just before serving, sprinkle the tops with maple or granulated sugar, using enough so that you can barely see the color of the custard below.
• To caramelize the tops, either use a kitchen torch or place the ramekins, on a baking sheet, under a hot broiler. Whichever method you use, take care that you don’t set the sugar on fire and be sure to remove the dishes from the heat source as soon as almost all the sugar is melted.
• Serve immediately.

Makes 2-4 servings, depending upon size; recipe can easily be multiplied.