Sunday, August 22, 2010

Creme Brulee

I have never in my life had creme brulee. Or not until I made this myself.  And I realize some of the e's in creme brulee are supposed to have doohickeys on them, but it's just not something I feel compelled to do.  

I found this recipe at Allrecipes, and found it easy and delicious.  This is a baked version, and I need to tell you I had to add about 18 minutes to the baking time to get it to set properly.  The reviews at Allrecipes are mixed, but my whole family loved this and I loved how easy it is.  
I don't have a kitchen torch (or any other torch for that matter), so I had to put it under the broiler to burn the sugar topping.  I used brown sugar on two of them and white sugar on the other two.  So obviously the brown sugar ones are the ones that got the color, but both toppings crisped up nicely.  I did like the flavor of the brown sugar ones, though.  


So, since I had to put it under the broiler, it warmed up the whole custard, and I assume it's meant to be served cold.  But having never had it, I didn't know any better and loved it warm.  I suppose I could have chilled it again after the broiling step, but I was ready to dig in!


Enough of all the chatter...here's the recipe!

Ingredients:
2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup white sugar
1 pinch salt 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 egg yolks
4 tablespoons white sugar

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) and line the bottom of a large baking pan with a damp kitchen cloth.
2. Bring a large pot of water to boil. While water is boiling, combine cream, 1/4 cup sugar and salt in saucepan over medium heat. Stir occasionally 4 to 5 minutes, until steam rises. In a medium bowl, beat egg yolks and vanilla until smooth. Pour hot cream into yolks, a little at a time, stirring constantly, until all cream is incorporated. Pour mixture into four 6 oz. ramekins.
3. Place ramekins on towel in baking dish, and place dish on oven rack. Pour boiling water into dish to halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Cover whole pan loosely with foil.
 4. Bake 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until custard is just set. Chill ramekins in refrigerator 4 to 6 hours. *I had to add 18 minutes on to this baking time*
5. Before serving, sprinkle 1 tablespoon sugar over each custard. Use a kitchen torch or oven broiler to brown top, 2 to 3 minutes.
 

17 comments:

Velva said...

Oh my! Creme brulee is so creamy and wonderful. You did great.

carma said...

I honestly can't recall if I've ever had creme brulee either. This weekend would not be a good time though since my husband is back at making ice cream with the ice cream maker. A whole boatload of it...

You did a fantastic job - and your photos make it look extra enticing!

Anonymous said...

I've never had that either. But it looks good. I always wanted to make it just so I could torch something. :)

Pam said...

This is my very favorite dessert - it looks creamy and delicious.

Anonymous said...

These creme brulees look lovely! Yum!

Unknown said...

Great job for a first timer, this is a fantastic dessert - I have had it warm and chilled, whatever you like! try it wwith some berries!

Mary | Deep South Dish said...

I love any kind of custard dish, but I've never made creme brulee at home either since I don't have a torch and no plans to buy one. You did a great job using the broiler though! I love custard, warm, hot, room temp, cold. It's all good!! Happy Sunday.

Monet said...

I, like you, have never tasted or made creme brulee, which is something that needs to change! Your recipe looks simple and the end result looks delicious. Thank you for sharing!

Monica H said...

I just made creme brulee yesterday. I already had one as a snack and I'm gonna have another for dessert. shhh, don't tell!

Krista said...

Gorgeous creme brulee! It's one of my favorite desserts. I made creme brulee cheesecake last winter and it was amazing! I need to make this version...but first I need to steal my mom's kitchen torch on my next version home.

Joyti said...

What a coincidence! I just made creme brulee myself. I went out and bought a torch...'cause I really like breaking the top, it feels like shattering glass and tastes lovely too. Does the top shatter when you put it in the broiler?

Joanne said...

I have been really craving creme brulee lately...it's one of my favorite desserts. Now if only I could convince my roommate to let me get a torch...

The JR said...

I made Sandra Lee's using a pudding mix and got to brown the top with hubbies plumbing torch.

Turned out pretty neat. But, I bet your's was richer than the one I made.

teresa said...

this is something that i've been wanting to try for a while. yours looks beautiful!

Mimi said...

Creme Brulee is a family favorite and it can be tircky to make. Yours looks perfect. Congratulations.
Mimi

Ingrid_3Bs said...

I've only had this once but I remember it as being delish!
~ingrid

Chris said...

This is my wife's favorite!

We used a recipe from Rouxbe.com but we also ended up adding about 20 minutes of cook time to get the right consistency.

We used a gas torch to top our and it worked perfectly.

Nice post!