Creme Brulee

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When done right, Creme Brulee is a real treat.

The crunchy caramelised outside, hides folds of sweet creamy goodness underneath,

that starts melting as soon as it’s in your mouth. Breaths of infused flavourings are exhaled to let you in on the chef’s secret ingredient. It is by far one of the best desserts!

A friend of mine has been asking me for a good Creme Brulee recipe. I have promised to blog the recipe, but with the hectic schedule did not get a chance to do it earlier. Now before I head out, I decided I have to post it as I actually woke up craving this fabulous dessert.

So here you go Racha, as promised: Creme Brulee with serving suggestions … 🙂

Ingredients

Serves: 4
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 50g caster sugar (don’t use granulated sugar)
  • 300 ml heavy cream
  • 60 ml milk
  • the seeds of 1 vanilla pod

Creme Brulee is a dessert made out of a rich custard of egg yolks mixed with sugar & cream.  Often flavoured with vanilla (the classic), but don’t be afraid to experiment with other flavours. It is known to go exceptionally well with lavender, ginger (my favourite), cardamom, cinnamon, mango…etc. Anything you can think of really.

It is always a good idea to top your creme brulee with something that indicates the flavour when using flavourings. For instance, before serving ginger creme brulee, top the caramelised sugar layer and a few pieces of candied ginger. This way your guests will of know what to expect in terms of flavour.

Creme brulee is set by cooking in a bain marie in the oven. This water batch is essential, because it gently cooks the custard, which keeps it creamy and luscious.

A bain marie is cooking in a water bath. Basically you place your ramekins in a baking dish and pour enough water to fill 1/2 the baking dish. This method is used for slow cooking of delicate foods like brulee, cheesecakes, pates, mousses, and egg based puddings. It prevents overcooking, burning or drying the food.

 

To flavour your brulee, you can use liquid flavourings, for convenience and ease. But I prefer to infuse the flavour into the cream instead. So the night before I make my brulee, I would heat the cream to just a boil, add my flavouring (grated ginger for instance or  dried lavender), cover with cling film and let it infuse over night in the fridge. It is a little extra work, but worth the effort as it makes all the difference to the final product.

Once the custard is done cooking, it is chilled, after chilling it is sprinkled with brown sugar and the sugar is burnt using a blowtorch or under a very hot broiler until well caramelised. You have to chill it after caramelising the sugar. Be careful as the sugar will be very hot. Right before serving top the caramelised sugar layer with raspberries, sliced strawberry, or any topping of your choice. You can even top with sugar threads, a sugar nest or chocolate shapes…

For a variation to the regular presentation, you can bake the creme brulee in a cooked pie crust as well. Can be done in mini pie shells, individual sized pie shells, or a large 12 serving pie shell. Then follow the full procedure of baking, chilling, caramelising, chilling…etc

If you are having a cocktail reception, then you can bake the brulee in heat-proof porcelain spoons or mini porcelain plates and have the waiter pass them around to guests.

Preheat your oven to 375F-190C.

In a small sauce pan, heat the cream and milk together with the halved vanilla bean.

In a mixing bowl, place the egg yolks and sugar, and mix well with a whisk.

Once mixed, add one ladle of the hot cream into the egg mixture and mix well. This is done to temper the eggs. Then add all the remaining cream and whisk well to combine.

Strain through a very fine sieve. Pour the mixture into small ramekins and place in the deep baking dish.

Transfer the baking dish to the oven, fill with enough water to cover the brulee ramekins halfway.

Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, allow to cool completely, then refrigerate for 1 hour.

When ready to serve, sprinkle the chilled creme brulee with soft brown sugar to completely cover the top, and burn with a blowtorch or under a very hot grill until caramelised.

Chill again, and serve cold.

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