Making creme brulee is easier than you'd think. The key is to ensure everything is combined well and done slowly. I make the pumpkin creme brulee a little differently than I make something like my blood orange creme brulee. Instead of mixing my sugar in with the pumpkin and yolks, I add it with the spices to the heavy cream to ensure the final result ends up as velvety as possible. In general, you need to temper your egg yolks which means slowly adding hot cream to the yolks while stirring the yolks constantly. That prevents the heat from cooking the yolks. Sometimes it happens no matter how careful we are, so the best thing to do is strain your mixture after you've mixed everything together before adding the liquid to your ramekins. Optional, but recommended. Next, slowly add the mixtures to your ramekins and slowly add your water to the baking dish surrounding the creme brulee. You don't want the water to get into the mixture as it will prevent the creme brulee from setting. To make sure this doesn't happen, I add water by the measuring cup into the baking sheet once it is already in the oven.