2 cups milk
2 cups cream
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon round allspice
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cloves
4 cups pumpkin puree
18 egg yolks
Light brown sugar

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Combine milk, cream, sugar and spices in a saucepan over low heat until just warm, stirring well to be sure the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and pour into a large mixing bowl. Add pumpkin puree to the milk mixture and whisk until smooth. Add egg yolks and whisk until well combined.

Pour the custard into 12 shallow ramekins and bake in a water bath about 45 minutes to an hour, until custard is set. (It will still wiggle like jelly.)

Once set, remove the ramekins from the water bath and allow to cool. Then refrigerate until custards are completely cold. Sprinkle the custard with brown sugar and place under a hot broiler until sugar caramelizes. Serve immediately.

Makes 12 (6-ounce) servings.

TO MAKE IN 6 SMALL PUMPKINS: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. You'll use 2/3 of the custard recipe. Cut the top third off of 5-inch diameter pie pumpkins. Using a spoon, scrape out the seeds and fiber. Fill with custard to within 1/8 inch of rim. Bake pumpkins on a cookie sheet; place an ovenproof bowl of water in the bottom of the oven. Bake 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes, or just until custard is set. Proceed as above for brulee topping.

Per serving (in pumpkin): 753 calories, 49 grams fat, 115 mg. sodium.

- From Culinary Institute of America.