Pumpkin Pie Spice Brulee Au Lait
There’s something extremely satisfying about the smack of a spoon on crème brulee. We thought it would be fun to mimic that experience by creating a sugary cap that you can send into a cup of coffee. We flavored the sugar cap with Pumpkin Pie Spice because we love its fragrant warmth, and made a luxe cup of French roast coffee blended with frothy steamed milk. Then we cracked the sugar cap, which plunged into the waiting coffee cup and made an extra sweet coffee treat. Behold, the brulee au lait.
When you make your sugar discs, be ready to work fast, and make them thin. Partly translucent discs are ideal. Sugar will start to harden up as soon as it comes off the heat, so pour out some sugar, spread it out so it is thin and has been stretched far enough to cover the top of your coffee cup, and then pour the next. An offset spatula coated with butter or a non-stick cooking spray will help you stretch the sugar discs. Keep the pot of sugar warming on a burner between pours. And please, be extremely careful when working with hot sugar. If you get any on your skin it will stick and continue to burn. This recipe makes at least 10-12 sugar discs, depending on the size of the coffee cup you need to cover, and the discs will remain usable for at least a month if they’re separated by waxed paper and kept in a cool, dry place.
Preparation time includes the approximately 40 minutes necessary to make the sugar discs.
To make Pumpkin Pie Spice simple syrup:
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup Demerara Sugar
1 Tablespoon Pumpkin Pie Spice
To make sugar disks:
2 cups Demerara Sugar
2/3 cup light corn syrup
3/4 cup water
1 Tablespoon Pumpkin Pie Spice
To make café au lait:
4 ounces freshly brewed French roast coffee
4 ounces freshly steamed, frothy milk
1 teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice simple syrup
1. Line two baking sheets with non-stick baker’s pads or parchment paper coated with cooking spray. Place an offset spatula and some non-stick spray or butter next to it. Set aside.
2. Make simple syrup. Put 1/4 cup water and 1/4 cup Demerara Sugar into a small saucepan or microwaveable bowl. Heat on the stove or in the microwave, stirring as needed, until sugar is fully melted into the water. Remove from heat and stir in Pumpkin Pie Spice. Simple syrup will keep in the refrigerator, in a closed container, for up to one month.
3. Make sugar disks. Put 2 cups Demerara Sugar, corn syrup, and 3/4 cup water in a saucepan with high sides. Stir until completely combined. Use a pan with higher sides than you might think are necessary, because sugar can climb as it cooks and the higher sides will help prevent spillover.
4. Set a candy thermometer into your sugar mixture, making sure it does not touch the base of the pot. Turn heat on to medium high.
5. Cook until temperature reaches 300°F, the hard-crack stage.
6. Remove candy thermometer from sugar and turn heat down to medium-low. Stir in Pumpkin Pie Spice, using a wooden spoon to stir since it does not conduct heat.
7. Pour out just enough sugar to smooth out with your offset spatula, returning the remaining sugar to heat, until your sugar disc is thin and large enough to cover the mouth of your coffee cup. Repeat with the remaining sugar, working quickly since the sugar will set and cool quickly.
8. To make the café au lait, take 4 ounces of freshly-brewed French roast coffee and four ounces of steamed milk; you can use dairy or plant-based milk for this drink. Pour equal amounts of milk and coffee into a cup, then stir in 1 teaspoon of Pumpkin Pie Spice simple syrup.
9. Top with a Pumpkin Pie Spice sugar disc. Then give the disc a smack with the back side of your spoon. The disc will break and plunge into the coffee cup.
