Crème Brûlée
Crème Brûlée. Just before serving, sprinkle the tops with white granulated sugar and shake off the excess. Place under broiler til caramelized or use a propane torch to burn the tops. Part of the fun of Creme Brulee comes from the crispiness of the burnt top compared to the creaminess of the custard.
Ingredients
-
Prepare 4 of free range egg yolks
-
Prepare 1 of vanilla pod
-
Prepare 70 g of caster sugar
-
Prepare 350 ml of double cream
-
Prepare A few of teaspoons Demerara sugar
Steps
- Preheat the oven to 150°C fan assisted.
- Pour the cream into a saucepan.
- Split the vanilla pod lengthways and scrape the seeds into the cream.
- Bring the cream to boiling point and then simmer for about 5 minutes.
- In another bowl beat the yolks and the sugar together until light and fluffy.
- Bring the cream back to boiling point and then whisk into the egg mixture until it thickens.
- Strain the mixture into a jug through a fine sieve.
- Place the ramekins into a roasting tray and then fill them with the cream mixture.
- Pour boiling water into the roasting tray until it reaches half way up the ramekins (this is known as Bain-marie).
- Place the tray on the middle shelf in the oven and bake for about 35-40 minutes until they are just set and still have a little wobble.
- Remove from the oven and let them cool at room temperature and then refrigerate until needed.
- Just before serving, sprinkle with Demerara sugar and using a blow torch caramelise the top (you can use the oven grill to brown them if you don’t have a blow torch).
- Leave to cool for a few minutes before serving, so that the sugar hardens.
Craig Lee for The New York Times Five simple ingredients – cream, vanilla, salt, eggs and sugar – make for an exquisitely rich and elegant dessert. Most crème brûlée recipes require the use of a small. It's even fun to say, even if it is a pain in the neck to type. I've loved it for a very, very, very long time. I included this crème brûlée recipe in my cookbook, and had planned for it to remain one of the cookbook-only recipes in there.
