While it contains only four ingredients, it is a dessert that some have found a little intimidating to make. But allow yourself to now be fearless in the making of Creme Brûlée as it is a relatively easy custard to make. Seriously, it is relatively easy. And once you make this for family and friends, well it could become your signature dessert. Isn't part of the fun of making a special dinner for family and friends making the meal memorable? And if you didn't believe the mantra 'last eaten, last remembered' before, you just might now be a believer.
Remember I said this was a rich dessert as it is one not for the faint of heart. Five egg yolks and two cups of heavy whipping cream are the two ingredients responsible for creating such decadence. Only a half cup of sugar and two tablespoons of vanilla are the other ingredients in Creme Brûlée. Four ingredients, how much simpler can this be?
The five egg yolks and the half cup of sugar are beat at high speed until light and fluffy. This usually takes about two minutes. You do not need to pull out your stand mixer for this recipe, a hand mixer is all you need.
The two cups of heavy whipping creme are heated in a heavy saucepan until lukewarm. This temperature of the cream is important as if it's too hot it will curdle the egg/sugar mixture and if it's too cool it won't help set the custard as it bakes in the oven. So what is lukewarm? It generally means the liquid is between 98 and 105 degrees Fahrenheit (or 36.5 to 40.5 Celsius). And when you place a lukewarm liquid on your wrist, it feels warmer than your body temperature. If you have ever warmed milk for a baby bottle, you know what lukewarm feels like. If you don't trust your sense of testing for lukewarmness (if that's a word), then use a thermometer the first few times you make this.
Once the heavy whipping cream is lukewarm, you very gently whisk into the egg/sugar mixture until it is all blended. If you over mix or mix to hard you will create a froth (and a froth here is not a good thing). Once mixed together, two tablespoons of vanilla are gently stirred in.
This recipe will serve five to six people depending on the size ramekin you use. I like using the wider, less deep ramekins as I think they make for a better presentation and also provides for a larger surface for the wonderful bruleed sugar topping. But whatever size ramekin you use, it needs to hold at least 6 ounces of liquid.
The mixture is poured into the ramekins and placed in a deep roasting pan to which you add hot, tepid water that reaches up to the halfway point of the ramekins. You do not want water to get into your custard, so I suggest you place the roasting pan with the filled ramekins on a rack in your oven, pour the water in then and then gently push in the rack.
The custards are baked for 45 to 50 minutes or until the custard is set. One way of testing the custard is to insert a knife into one of the custards. If it comes out clean, it is done. The custard will still have some slight movement in it when it is done. It will set up further as it chills. The baked custards are removed from the water bath and allowed to cool. Once cooled they should be refrigerated for at least eight hours or overnight.
A generous heaping teaspoon of sugar is spread out evenly over the cooled custards. For the size ramekin I used, I spread almost two teaspoons of sugar over the top. The sugar is what is needed for the bruleeing. I have used white sugar and brown sugar before but always go back to using white sugar as I think it is the more classic, traditional way of making Creme Brûlée. More importantly, I like the taste of burnt white sugar better than that of burnt brown sugar.
Williams-Sonoma sells a torch for making Creme Brûlée or you can buy one of those small propane torches from the hardware store. To brulee or burn the sugar, you simple place the torch over the sugar and move back and forth over the surface until the sugar has been heated to the bubbling point and slightly darkened or burnt (yes you are actually burning the sugar).
You can serve the Creme Brûlée immediately after you have burnt the sugar or you can return to the refrigerator and serve later. If you serve it immediately, you will have the experience of tasting the warm, slightly burnt sugar and the cold creamy custard underneath. Such an amazing contrast of tastes and textures. Such a memorable contrast of tastes and textures!
Creme Brûlée (slight adaptation of the Chestnut Street Grill recipe)
Ingredients
5 egg yolks (from large eggs)
1/2 cup sugar plus additional for top
2 cups heavy whipping cream
2 Tablespoons vanilla
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Place egg yolks and 1/2 cup sugar in medium bowl and mix until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes).
3. Heat heavy whipping cream to lukewarm.
4. Gently stir in the whipping cream to the egg/sugar mixture.
5. Stir in vanilla.
6. Pour in ramekins holding at least 6 ounces
7. Place ramekins in a deep baking pan.
8. Fill baking pan with hot tepid water to the halfway point of the ramekins (best to pour the water in the baking pan with pan already on rack on the oven). Bake for 45-50 minutes or until set (or until knife inserted into custard comes out clean).
9. Remove from water bath and allow to cool. Refrigerate when cooled. Should be refrigerated for at least 8 hours or overnight.
10. Top each custard with a generous rounded teaspoon of sugar (spreading evenly over the baked custard).
11. Using a small propane torch or creme brûlée torch, burn sugar until it begins to bubble and caramelize.
12. Can serve immediately or return to the refrigerator until ready to serve.
I am a self-confessed 'does not cook everyday' cook. But rather I am one who likes to prepare meals several times a week. As much as I love to cook, read through cookbooks, and entertain, this may sound a little inconsistent (but a little inconsistency can sometimes be a good thing). I have often wondered how much better of a cook I would be if I was making one or two meals a day, everyday. In using Malcolm Gladwell's 10,000 hours concept, most definitely I would be a much better cook. Better at gauging the nuances of some recipes as well as better at making things that first appear to be complex or hard to feel easier and simpler. My 10,000 hours will not be cooking meals everyday but will have to be the accumulation of time spent cooking over the course of my life thus far (at least for now, who knows I might someday be inspired to cook everyday).
I have had a recent shift in my thinking about the concept of perfect (notice I used the better in the aforementioned paragraph and not perfect). Reading the book "Daring Greatly" by Brene Brown and some other life changes are just two of the reasons for my recent reflections. This is (or should I say I am) a 'work in progress shift' as perfectionism and seeking to be perfect (for others) has dominated my life every since I can remember (which for me is the first grade). Sometimes I like to think that my astrological sign (Virgo) has played a role in who I am, but then again as much as I believe there is some wisdom in astrology, I also believe we have the ability to make choices. But shifting from a place of seeking to be perfect (for others) is hard work as my concept of 'good enough' skews to the perfectionism end of the continuum. While I don't think I will ever completely give up on doing (or attempting to do) some things perfectly, for me the journey will be all about finding balance.
