Last year I had a gift certificate to Hartwicks, one of the nicer kitchen shops in Eugene (Think a mix between Sur La Table and Kitchen Kaboodle). I found quite a few practical items that I needed (steamer baskets, piping kit for frosting, etc.). I decided that with all of these useful things, I should find at least one fun item. Then I saw it: a creme brulee set. It included the torch, four small ramekins and a little recipe book. YES. I was so excited!!
Surprisingly it took me ages to actually get around to making creme brulee! Dale's not a big dessert person (Crazy! I know), so I usually only make baked goods that I can bring into work to share (I have a wedding dress to fit into next summer, so I can't keep these at home). Then my sister mentioned that she thought it would be fun to make some creme brulee sometime when I was visiting her. She lives in Corvallis, so I like to try to stay the night so we can hang out for longer. This was the perfect opportunity to experiment with creme brulee.
For having never made creme brulee before, we did a pretty darn good job! The one frustrating thing was waiting for the cream to heat. OH and trying to get the torch to work!!! A certain someone left the instructions back in Eugene, but her brilliant sister had the idea to look them up online and sure enough, there they were. We didn't know that once you fill the torch with the butane gas, you have to let it sit for a few minutes. Ohhh. Then it was awesome! The recipe we used made more than would fit in our ramekins, so we reduced it by half, which was about right. Our ramekins were 4oz. instead of the 6oz. the recipe called for. We also used vanilla extract instead of a vanilla bean because Safeway didn't carry it. The texture of our finished creme brulee was heavenly!! Crisp, crunchy and sugary on the top, and smooth, creamy, and vanilla-y on the inside. WOW. This is something I could get used to... and that's a bit dangerous.
Recipe by Tyler Florence
Prep time: 30 min. Cook time: 2hr 40min.
Makes 6 servings in six 6oz. ramekins
9 egg yolks
3/4 Cup superfine white sugar, plus 6 Tbsp.1 Quart heavy cream
1 Vanilla bean 1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. In a large bowl, cream together egg yolks and sugar with a whisk until the mixture is pale yellow and thick.
2. Pour cream into a medium saucepan oer low heat. Using a paring knife, split the vanilla bean down the middle, scrape out the seeds and add them to the saucepan. Bring cream to a brief simmer, do not boil or it will overflow. Remove from heat and temper the yolks by gradually whisking the hot vanilla cream into yolk and sugar mixture. Do not add hot cream too quickly, or the eggs will cook.
3. Divide custard into 6 (6oz.) ramekins, about 3/4 full. Place ramekins in a roasting pan and fill pan with enough water to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake until barely set around the edges, about 40 minutes. You may want to cover loosely with foil to prevent browning. Remove from oven and cool to room temp. Transfer the ramekins to the fridge and chill for 2 hours. Sprinkle 1 Tbsp. of sugar on top of each chilled custard. Hold a kitchen torch 2 inches above surface to brown the sugar and form a crust. Garnish with cookies and fresh fruit. Serve at once.
Variation: Before dividing into ramekins: add 3oz. shaved dark chocolate to make chocolate creme brulee; add 4 slices crystallized ginger for ginger creme brulee; add 3 slices orange peel for orange creme brulee. Let steep 20 minutes to infuse the flavor. Strain out the ginger and orange peel before baking.
Where would you be without me? lol, those were delicious!
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