In a Dutch oven over medium heat, melt the butter.

Add the onions, carrots, celery, and apple. Saute until the onions begin to caramelize – about 10 minutes.

Sprinkle in the curry powder, nutmeg, cayenne, cinnamon, cumin, and salt.  Stir into the vegetable mixture and allow the spices to ‘’bloom’.  Stir and cook for another 5 minutes or until the spices become very fragrant.

Whisk in the chicken broth and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes.

Stir in the pumpkin and half-and-half.  Continue to cook, stirring often, for about 10 minutes to bring the soup back to a simmer.  Don’t allow the soup to boil.

Remove the pot from the heat.

Carefully use an immersion blender to blend the soup until smooth and silky.

Return the pot to the stove and warm over medium-low heat, stirring often, until the soup is hot.

To serve:  Ladle the soup into soup bowls.

In a small bowl, add the creme fraiche.  Stir in enough half and half until a pourable consistency is reached.  Spoon the mixture into a small zip-top bag.  Cut off a tiny corner and pipe concentric circles on top of the soup.

Use a toothpick to drag a line through the circles, starting from the outer circle and moving towards the center to create a spider web design.

Sprinkle with parsley.  Serve immediately.