Perfect Creme Brulee

I dream of creme brulee...  This luscious custard dessert is a perfect finish to any meal and a definite hit at dinner parties.  A lot of people are intimidated by the mere thought of such a "fancy" dessert, trust me, I used to be too.  But, once you actually try it, you realize how incredibly easy it is to make.  I hope you give this one a try, let me know how you make out.


Perfect (and easy) Creme Brulee

Serves 6

500 ml heavy whipping cream
8 egg yolks
8 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
5 tbsp granulated sugar (for topping)
kettle of boiled water (for water bath)

Preheat oven to 300F.

In a medium sized bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar, and vanilla until slightly thickened (they start to turn a bit of a whitish yellow colour rather than the vibrant yellow of the yolks).  Set aside.

Heat the cream in a small sauce pan over medium heat until it barely starts to simmer, be careful not to let the cream boil.  Remove from heat.

Temper the eggs by pouring in about 1/4 of the whipping cream into the egg yolk mixture at a time until you have used up all the cream.  This slow addition of the hot cream prevents the eggs from "cooking".

Place 6 small ramekins into a baking dish.

Pour the custard liquid into the ramekins making sure that there is an even amount in each.

Pour the hot water into the baking pan (outside the ramekins) until the water is level with the height of the top of the custard inside the cups, this is the trick to properly cooking the creme brulee, it protects the custard from the direct heat of the oven.  To make things easier and prevent water splashing up and into the ramekins, I use a funnel to pour the water into the pan.

Bake the custard in the water bath in your pre-heated oven for 30-35 minutes, until the custard is set on the outside but jiggly in the middle (like jello).

Remove creme brulee from oven and carefully set the individual creme brulees in the fridge to chill for at least 4 hours (preferably overnight).  To remove them from the hot water bath, use tongs with a good grip, if you're concerned about not gripping enough simply wind rubber bands on each of the "pinchers" on the tongs, the rubber will ensure a good grip.

Immediately before serving...sprinkle just less than a tablespoon of sugar onto the custard.  Move the dish around until there is a coat of sugar over the entire surface, shake off excess sugar.  Using a brulee torch (Yes, I used the heavy duty one...it makes me feel powerful in the kitchen, lol), slowly caramelize the sugar on top making sure to keep the torch moving at all times to prevent caramelizing one spot more than another.  If the sugar starts to bubble too much, pull the flame away and allow it to come back down, this helps prevent burning of the sugar.  Be careful, the edges of the ramekins will be hot.

 

:::If you don't have a torch, set your oven to "broil" and place the chilled creme brulees about 6-8 inches from the top of the oven for 4-5 minutes or until the sugar begins to bubble and turn golden brown.:::

 Serve within 5 minutes of creating the caramelized sugar coating.

Enjoy