Chai Pumpkin Breakfast Brûlée

Chai Pumpkin Breakfast Brûlée 
 
All my creative energy has gone into my work lately; launching new projects, hiring new staff, assuming new responsibilities. I love every minute of it, but often my days end with the feeling that my head will explode if one more thought has to be shoe-horned into it. My cooking has fallen into the comfort of old family favorites, the kind that can be made with your hands tied behind your back and in a brain dead state. Creative cooking? Writing? No sir.

Happily, though, even when domestic creativity is frizzled, I often have 3 a.m. Saturday morning dream inspirations about one of my most favorite meals of all, Saturday morning breakfast. It happened last Saturday. Breakfast thoughts swirled into my dreams and I woke with an idea.

Chai spices, homemade pumpkin puree, whole grains, and a blast from the torch. A very special breakfast in spite of my waking-hour creative doldrums.

Warming and filling and sweet. Perfect for a crisp autumn morning, and a special treat for visiting holiday house guests.


Chai Pumpkin Breakfast Brûlée 

Chai Spices
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Mix all ingredients together and set aside.


Whole Grain Chai Pumpkin Cereal
(I used Bob's Red Mill Mighty Tasty Cereal which happens to be gluten free and is terrific. Any other hot cereal such as cream of wheat, 9-grain, oats, etc. may be used, adapting proportions to package recommendations.)
For each serving:
1/4 cup Bob's Red Mill Mighty Tasty Cereal
3/4 cup water
1 teaspoon sugar (brown, demerara, or white may be used)
1/2-3/4 teaspoon Chai spice mixture
pinch of salt
1/4 cup pumpkin puree

Add cereal to salted boiling water in small saucepan. Add sugar and Chai spices. Cook according to package directions. About 2 minutes before it is done, stir in pumpkin puree. Stir frequently until grains are fully cooked.

Spoon cooked pumpkin cereal into 5" brulee dishes and smooth top with small offset spatula. Sprinkle sugar evenly and somewhat heavily over tops. Using your kitchen torch, carefully and evenly melt sugar, allowing it to crisp into a crackly, crunching top. Serve immediately with strong hot coffee.



Comments

  1. I love all of the chai spices. This is very creative!

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  2. Wow! I want creme brulee for breakfast every day, please! The flavor combination sounds divine! :)

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  3. I agree! Chai tastes amazing in anything and adding it to creme brulee is simply genius! Thanks for sharing!

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  4. Looks amazingly good! I would like to give it a try!

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  5. Pam, served with a piping hot cup of coffee and you have the perfect morning here. The texture of your brulee is perfect and I can almost smell it through my computer screen. Brava!

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  6. What an amazing recipe and even more amazing how you came to make this one...interesting! :)

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  7. What a fantastic idea! I'm going to make that tomorrow!

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  8. You may have invented my ultimate breakfast. Chai and creme brûlée and pumpkin, oh my!

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  9. What a great recipe!! SO creative. Congrats on Top 9 today, well deserved! :-D

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  10. Sounds totally perfect for guests or for just you. I like how simple and straightforward the recipe is. You could get it going before the first sip of coffee and the result still sounds like a special treat.

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  11. Yum! I love any dessert for breakfast, this looks so good!

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  12. I fear that the whole-grain goodness of this recipe may be easily overlooked! This is really highly spiced, fruited hot cereal; just with a brulee topping! While it is a little secial because of the extra attention with the torch, it could just as easily be a regular Tuesday morning breakfast with just a little brown sugar and milk instead of the melted sugar topping!!

    Thanks so much to everyone for launching this recipe into Foodbuzz's Top 9 today! What fun to share a good idea!

    My best to all,
    Pam

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  13. I made this with steel cut oats and threw in some raisins and milk and skipped the sugar topping and it was fantastic! Thanks for the recipe!

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  14. What a winning combination of warm flavours! Love this idea of chai and pumpkin. This brulee looks perfect for dessert too. Deliciously done! :)

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  15. Wow! That sounds great. I love a good breakfast idea!

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  16. Amazing! Congratulations on Top 9...it is SO well deserved with this one. I know you said you've not been creative in the kitchen lately, but you blew it out the water with this one!

    This is LONG overdue because I adore you blog - I'm following you on google follower!

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  17. This would make a nice Thanksgiving breakfast idea...beautiful!

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  18. Wow... chai is my absolute FAVORITE flavor. This breakfast brulee sounds divine...
    xo
    http://allykayler.blogspot.com

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  19. Brilliant breakfast! So lovely and decadent and perfect for a Sunday morning :) Love the chai-pumpkin combo. That's genius

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  20. Sounds so fancy but really warming and delicious. Love pumpkin anything. Thanks for being so inspirational.

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  21. This looks divine. Oh, and I love that you assume the reader will have a kitchen torch. That made me smile. (And wonder why I don't have one...)

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  22. I love dessert for breakfast! What a cool idea!

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  23. Oh, I love these flavors together and creme brulee is my all time favorite recipe. Great post!

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