Crème Brûlée with a Red Crackle Top

I dare say that there just isn’t anything more delicious than a great Crème brulée.  The first time I ever tried this decadent dessert was in Jackson Hole, WY.  Thanks to some friends of ours, we were staying at a very plush hotel for just one evening . . . free of charge. We were extremely tired.  Our bones hurt, and I remember that the throbbing in a few of my toes was quite unbearable!

We had pulled ourselves out of bed, long – long- long- before the sun knew its business, and headed for a certain trail head.  We were prepared for what was ahead.  At least that was the plan. Every August a group of us take a very loooonnnnnngggggg hike.  This time we climbed the Middle Tetons.  We made the entire climb up and down in one day.  It was hard work, but well worth it, once you see the view from the top. My toe-nails still don’t think so though.  I lost 3 of them,  after that climb and they are still rebelling.

When we finally finished that grueling long climb, we all made our way to a perfectly plush suite.  One of the couples we were with had ties with the owner.  That was nice!  So nice.  Hot showers seemed like a luxury that had never been felt before. We dawned whiter than snow, bath robes, then placed an order for dinner.  Guess what dessert was?

You’re so right!  Oh, I surely had been missing out all these years.  If you haven’t had Crème brûlée before in a posh suite or a nice restaurant, that’s perfectly A – O.K.  You can make it right at home.  It’s super – duper easy.  In fact, it’s one of the easiest desserts you’ll ever make.  You don’t even need a fancy torch, you just need to sneak into someones garage and borrow theirs!

Since it’s Valentine’s Day tomorrow, I thought I would use Red Sugar Crystals.  It worked perfectly.  Normally  I use turbinado sugar, but you can also use brown sugar or even white granulated sugar as well.

After 34 1/2 years of marriage, I still hold a torch for my sweet husband.  That’s a good feeling . . . a very good feeling.

When you put heat to that sugar, it caramelizes and melts.  After it cools, it gets hard.  So now you have a dessert consisting of a rich vanilla custard base, topped with a contrasting layer of  hard caramel top.  It is normally served at room temperature. We also like to top it with fresh berries.  Blueberries, Strawberries, Huckleberries will put this over the top.

Once you dive in with a spoon, that hard caramelized top shatters into the vanilla custard, and it’s to die for.  I put little love notes in my husbands.  I found those cute little envelopes at Walmart.  Pretty sweet.

Click here for the full tutorial and recipe for Creme Brûlée.

I hope you all have a very HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!