I do have a slightly dramatized version of crème brûlée for this post, because, well, it was a day. You know what I mean. An experiment in Murphy's Law. I bumped by head on the cabinet, spilled sugar all over the counter, and dropped a spoon for no apparent reason. I probably should have just left the kitchen right away. But I'm stubborn.
To make the crème brûlée, you start out by heating 4 cups of heavy cream over medium-high heat on the stove. I like to stir milk or cream things like this fairly frequently, as I've wound up with burnt stuff on the bottom if I don't. If you have a vanilla bean, scraping out the seeds in mixing it in here is perfect, but vanilla bean paste works well, too - I'm a big fan of this, but you do have to keep in mind it has sugar added.
While the milk heated up, I separated the eggs, putting the yolks into one bowl and scrambling the egg whites just to use them up. I'm not your typical breakfast baker; I find I'm most active in the evening, actually. But fate worked out this way and as I would never just throw out egg whites, my very spoiled dog Moxie and I split 'em.
Here's where things went a bit awry. There I was, spoiling my dog and putting egg whites in her bowl, neglecting some important cooking going on, when I heard a loud "hiss!" and bolted back to the kitchen. I knew by the sound my heavy cream had boiled over. The good news is that the heavy cream hit the perfect point it needed to come off the stove. The bad news is that the cream burned to the stovetop and smoked up my house. What's next? Smoke detectors blaring, Moxie doing her husky howl in response, and since my house alarm is connected with the smoke detectors, the whole house was going crazy.
After letting the dispatch team that called know that I was not actually burning down my house, I caught my breath for a minute as the heavy cream needed 15 minutes to cool down. I preheated the oven in anticipation of the next few steps. This part is a little different; in prior puddings I'd made, you just temper the eggs and gradually add them to the cream. But for this, you beat eggs and sugar together, let the cream cool a bit, then slowly mix it into the egg mixture. You still have to stir frequently to not wind up with scrambled eggs, but I found this worked really well.
After that, I poured the cream mixture into the ramekins. Despite my boiling over, I still had enough to mostly fill 6 bowls (another fun fact: I only own 3 ramekins and thankfully had 3 small Pyrex dishes. Get it together!). The last step was placing them in a water bath, which I used a large Pyrex container for. I filled it with about a cup and a half or so of water; enough that with the ramekins added caused the water level to raise to about half of the ramekins' height.
They went into the oven for about 45 minutes; when I took them out, they still wobbled like Jell-O but maintained their shape. I let them cool for a few minutes, then placed them in the fridge to firm up for about 2 hours.
And now you have little bowls of pudding. But there's something important that comes with the crème brûlée territory; that toasted sugar topping!
The recipe indicated that the crème brûlée needed to sit out for about 30 minutes before toasting the sugar, so I followed the rules and let them sit first. Listen, I've had a butane torch for at least a year and a half waiting for this day, and it was going to be perfect. I sprinkled some sugar over each ramekin and used the butane torch to melt and toast the sugar, creating a thin, crisp sheet of sugar on top. On some versions, I've read you can do this multiple times to really thicken it up, but I found one layer was enough (and honestly I was running out of butane - that stuff doesn't last).
I actually made this for a family get together, and was thrilled when my Dad asked me, "What's crème brûlée?" "Go ask Mom." No way was I explaining that one.
Couldn't think of a better way to end a family dinner of smoked meats and veggies than the refreshing sounds of cracked sugar. Even my Mom, who normally just "takes a bite" when it is time for dessert was the first one to grab a ramekin. Success, you ae mine. Happy reviews, happy stomachs. The crisp top was lovely but easily broken, like a car window on a movie set. The custard, though...holy moly. Best pudding I've ever made. Heavy cream is the answer. It was so smooth and creamy; I can see why this is a specialty dessert. I say that for flavor, not for effort. If you've made it this far in your reading, you can tell; this was not the biggest challenge. Don't be intimidated like I was for far too long.
Another thing to note, particularly if you don't own a butane torch. I advise against using straight flame from a wooden match or anything. But, as my butane torch was empty and I had to finish one off for photos, using the broiler does the trick. It takes a bit longer and will burn any sugar on the sides of the ramekin as well, but lack of a butane torch should not mean a lack of caramelized sugar, dangit!
Crème Brûlée Recipe
Ingredients:
3 1/2-4 cups heavy cream (1 quart)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (vanilla bean paste or a vanilla bean preferred)
3/4 cup sugar
6 egg yolks
4-5 cups water (depending on pan size)
Instructions:
In a medium saucepan, heat heavy cream and vanilla extract over medium-high heat until it begins to boil, stirring frequently. Remove from heat an set aside to cool for 15 minutes. Heat oven to 325 degrees F. In a medium bowl (enough for at least 4 cups of liquid), whisk eggs and 1/2 cup sugar together. After cooling the cream, pour about 1/2 cup of the cream into the egg mixture, stirring constantly. Gradually add more of the cream until the eggs and cream are combined. Gently pour into ramekins. Add ramekins into a large pan with sides (like a lasagna pan or Pyrex dish). Fill pan with water around ramekins until ramekins are halfway submerged. Bake in oven for about 45 minutes, until mixture is partially set but no longer liquid. Allow to cool, then refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours. Remove from fridge about 30 minutes before serving. To add sugar topping, sprinkle 1-2 teaspoons of sugar on top of each ramekin. Use a butane torch roughly 6-8 inches away from the sugar to toast sugar until browned. Allow to cool, then serve.
adapted from alton brown's creme brulee
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