CREME BRULEE

I believe . . .this is my favorite dessert in all the world.

Quite true.

If you can . . .

paint your toe nails, boil water, brush your teeth, butter bread, read a blog, send a text, type, crack an egg, stir, pour, turn on the oven, mow your lawn, pull weeds, skip, etc . . . then you can make Creme Brulee!

You won’t have to pay $6 to $8 for it either, like you would in a nice restaurant.

Berries would be extra!

I do believe that of all the Creme Brulee recipes I’ve tried . . . this is my favorite.

The crispy, crunchy caramel top . . . puts it over the top good.

There’s nothing halfhearted about Creme Brulee. The creamy custard pudding like layer under the caramel shell is quite decadent. You only need 5 ingredients to make this delicious work of art.  Heavy cream is a must, along with egg yolks, sugar, vanilla and of course Turbinado sugar for the top. I use my husbands torch to melt and caramelize the sugar top. You can also use the broiler in your oven, if you don’t have one you can steal from the garage.

Let me walk you through it . . . so simple.

I like to begin by assembling all the gear.

This recipe will make 4 – 1 cup size custard cups or ramekins. If you’re using smaller ramekins, you will be able to make at least six desserts. Line a large baking dish with a clean kitchen towel, and place the cups on top of the towel. The towel keeps the cups from jiggling. Make sure that they are not touching each other. You will also need a hand or stand mixer, or a wire whisk and some muscle!

Put some water on the stove to boil.

The creme Brulee has to take a water bath.

You will need:  8 egg yolks, 2 cups heavy cream, 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract, granulated sugar & turbinado (raw) sugar for the top. You can also use brown sugar if you like, but it doesn’t taste quite the same. (Don’t throw away your whites . . . you can make Macarons!)

Using a stand mixer, hand mixer or wire whisk . . . whisk the egg yolks and the sugar together in a large bowl until sugar is well dissolved and mixture is thick and pale yellow.

Just like this.

Add the cream and vanilla, and stir until combined.

Strain into a large bowl, to catch any little lumps that shouldn’t be there.

Divide the mixture evenly into your ramekins or custard cups.

I used four – 7oz custard cups

Pop any bubbles that form on the surface of the cream mixture.

Carefully walk the heavy dish over to your preheated 300 degree oven, and place the dish in the center of your oven.  Gently slide the oven rack partially out, and grab that pot of boiling water.  Taking care not to splash any water into the ramekins, pour enough hot water along the sides, so that it comes about 1/2 inch up the sides of the ramekins.  Gently slide the rack with the pan back into the oven. Bake until the custards are set (the mixture will move as a unit when a ramekin is shaken, with a dime size center portion that still looks uncooked), about 45 minutes.  If you are using dishes that are wider and shallow, they will take less time to bake. Watch closely.

Using caution, remove the ramekins from the water and transfer to a wire rack.

Let them cool completely.

After they are cool, cover each cup with plastic wrap.  Refrigerate until well chilled, at least four hours or over night.

When you are ready to serve, uncover the cups and apply about 1/8 ” of turbinado sugar or brown sugar over the top of the custard. I apply a bit more myself.

Light the fuel, and get ready . . .

get set . . .

GO!

Torch or broil the sugar until it has melted and turned into a wonderful caramel color.

Once it cools, it turns into a hard delicious yummy shell.

It’s pure heaven on your tongue!

We like to add raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, etc.

A dab of Whipped Cream is also delicious.

Easy. Simple. Scrumptious.

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