Tuesdays with Dorie: Creme Brulee

Mari of Mevrouw Cupcake selected this week’s recipe: Crème Brulee. I can’t really remember what my first thought about this was. I love crème brulee, but to actually make it? I had received a crème brulee set a couple of years ago as a gift, so I had no excuse not to try it. I looked through the recipe and it didn’t look too bad.

This is definitely a recipe that is easier for two to create. My husband helped with the simultaneous whisking/pouring, which would have been a challenge to do by myself. It came together really easily and as my husband said “smells just like custard.” He’s quite the fan of custard, so I trust him on this. (He’s actually suggesting I try making it with Bird’s Instant Custard, just so I could make it quicker.)

Torching the sugar was quite fun! It maybe wasn’t as even as the crème brulees that I have ordered in a restaurant, but it was pretty close. My custard was a little runnier than I was used to, but I thought it turned out really well for my first try.

1-1/4 cups heavy cream

½ cup whole milk

3 large egg yolks

1/3 cup sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

Additional sugar

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Put 6 small baking dishes on a cookie sheet lined with a silpat.

Mix the cream and milk in a saucepan and bring just to a boil.

In a 2 quart glass measuring bowl, whisk the yolks sugar and vanilla. While still whisking, stir in about one quarter of the hot cream/milk mixture, to temper the eggs. (You don’t want scrambled eggs.) Continue whisking, adding the rest of the cream/milk mixture. Rap the bowl against the counter to remove any bubbles. Strain the custard into the baking dishes.

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes until the centers are set. Let them cool to room temperature and then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least three hours. (I forgot to wrap them in plastic and they turned out ok.)

To caramelize, sprinkle the tops of the custards with about one tablespoon sugar. Using a kitchen blowtorch, brown the sugar until it bubbles.

Recipe from Baking from My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan