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.