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1
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Make the crust: In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade, pulse the crackers and pecans until finely ground, 6 to 10 pulses.
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2
Add the melted butter and brown sugar and pulse to combine.
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3
Press the mixture into the bottoms and 1/2 inch up the sides of ten 6-ounce ramekins.
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4
Put the ramekins in a large baking dish or roasting pan and blind bake in the oven, 10 to 12 minutes.
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5
Remove and set aside to cool.
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6
Make the custard: Combine 2 cups cream, the cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger in a saucepan over medium-high heat.
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7
Halve the vanilla bean lengthwise; scrape out the seeds with a knife, then add the seeds and pod to the saucepan.
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8
Bring to a boil and remove from the heat.
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9
Whisk the egg yolks with the granulated sugar in a bowl until the sugar is dissolved.
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10
Add the remaining 1 1/2 cups cream and the milk to the saucepan.
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11
Slowly whisk in the yolk mixture, then strain the custard through a sieve back into the bowl.
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12
Whisk in the pumpkin.
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13
Divide the pumpkin mixture among the ramekins.
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14
Pour hot water into the baking dish, about halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
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15
Bake until the custard is starting to set but is still a little wiggly in the middle, 55 minutes to 1 hour.
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16
Remove from the oven; remove the ramekins from the water bath and let cool to room temperature.
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17
Cover and refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight.
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18
Lightly sprinkle the custard with turbinado sugar.
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19
Heat the sugar with a butane torch until caramelized.
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20
To get a thicker caramelized sugar crust, repeat, using just a light sprinkling of sugar each time.
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21
Let cool.
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22
Photograph by Con Poulos
