Brandy Crème Brûlée Dessert Recipes

BRANDY CRèME BRûLéE BARS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. In medium bowl, mix flour, 1/2 cup sugar and the butter with spoon. Press on bottom and 1/2 inch up sides of ungreased square pan, 9x9x2 inches. Bake 20 minutes.
• Reduce oven temperature to 300°F. In small bowl, beat egg yolks and 1/4 cup sugar with spoon until thick. Gradually stir in whipping cream and brandy. Pour over baked layer.
• Bake 40 to 50 minutes or until custard is set and knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely, about 1 hour. For bars, cut into 6 rows by 6 rows. Place bars on cookie sheet lined with waxed paper.
• In heavy 1-quart saucepan, heat 1/3 cup sugar over medium heat until sugar begins to melt. Stir until sugar is completely dissolved and caramel colored. Cool slightly until caramel has thickened slightly. Drizzle hot caramel over bars. (If caramel begins to harden, return to medium heat and stir until thin enough to drizzle.) After caramel on bars has hardened, cover and refrigerate bars up to 48 hours.

BRANDY CRèME BRûLéE DESSERT

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°. Cut butter into Bisquick mix and 1/3 cup sugar in medium bowl, using pastry blender or crisscrossing 2 knives, until well mixed. Press on bottom and 1/2 inch up sides of ungreased square pan, 9x9x2 inches. Bake 16 to 18 minutes or until golden brown; remove from oven.
• Reduce oven temperature to 300°. Beat egg yolks and 1/4 cup sugar in small bowl with wire whisk until thick. Gradually stir in whipping cream and brandy until blended. Pour over baked layer. Bake 40 to 50 minutes or until custard is set and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
• For serving pieces, cut into 4 rows by 3 rows. Place on dessert plates. Heat 1/3 cup sugar in heavy 1-quart saucepan over medium heat until sugar begins to melt. Stir until sugar is completely dissolved and caramel colored. Cool slightly until caramel has thickened slightly. Quickly drizzle hot caramel evenly over each serving. (If caramel begins to harden, return to medium heat and stir until thin enough to drizzle.) Store dessert covered in refrigerator.

CREME BRULEE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Place the cream, vanilla bean and its pulp into a medium saucepan set over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat, cover and allow to sit for 15 minutes. Remove the vanilla bean and reserve for another use.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup sugar and the egg yolks until well blended and it just starts to lighten in color. Add the cream a little at a time, stirring continually. Pour the liquid into 6 (7 to 8-ounce) ramekins. Place the ramekins into a large cake pan or roasting pan. Pour enough hot water into the pan to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake just until the creme brulee is set, but still trembling in the center, approximately 40 to 45 minutes.
• Remove the ramekins from the roasting pan and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 3 days. Remove the creme brulee from the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes prior to browning the sugar on top. Divide the remaining 1/2 cup vanilla sugar equally among the 6 dishes and spread evenly on top. Using a torch, melt the sugar and form a crispy top. Allow the creme brulee to sit for at least 5 minutes before serving.

ULTIMATE CRèME BRûLéE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Sit four 175ml ramekins in a deep roasting tin at least 7.5cm deep (or a large deep cake tin), one that will enable a baking tray to sit well above the ramekins when laid across the top of the tin.
• Pour the large and small cartons of double cream into a medium pan with the milk.
• Lay the vanilla pod on a board and slice lengthways through the middle with a sharp knife to split it in two. Use the tip of the knife to scrape out all the tiny seeds into the cream mixture. Drop the vanilla pod in as well, and set aside.
• Put the egg yolks and sugar in a mixing bowl and whisk for 1 min with an electric hand whisk until paler in colour and a bit fluffy.
• Put the pan with the cream on a medium heat and bring almost to the boil. As soon as you see bubbles appear round the edge, take the pan off the heat.
• Pour the hot cream into the beaten egg yolks, stirring with a wire whisk as you do so, and scraping out the seeds from the pan.
• Set a fine sieve over a large wide jug or bowl and pour the hot mixture through to strain it, encouraging any stray vanilla seeds through at the end.
• Using a big spoon, scoop off all the pale foam that is sitting on the top of the liquid (this will be several spoonfuls) and discard. Give the mixture a stir.
• Pour in enough hot water (from the tap) into the roasting tin to come about 1.5cm up the sides of the ramekins. Pour the hot cream into the ramekins so you fill them up right to the top - it's easier to spoon in the last little bit.
• Put them in the oven and lay a baking sheet over the top of the tin so it sits well above the ramekins and completely covers them, but not the whole tin, leaving a small gap at one side to allow air to circulate.
• Bake for 30-35 mins until the mixture is softly set. To check, gently sway the roasting tin and if the crème brûlées are ready, they will wobble a bit like a jelly in the middle. Don't let them get too firm.
• Lift the ramekins out of the roasting tin with oven gloves and set them on a wire rack to cool for a couple of minutes only, then put in the fridge to cool completely. This can be done overnight without affecting the texture.
• When ready to serve, wipe round the top edge of the dishes, sprinkle 1½ tsp of caster sugar over each ramekin and spread it out with the back of a spoon to completely cover.
• Spray with a little water using a fine spray (the sort you buy in a craft shop) to just dampen the sugar - then use a blow torch to caramelise it. Hold the flame just above the sugar and keep moving it round and round until caramelised. Serve when the brûlée is firm, or within an hour or two.

COFFEE-BRANDY CRèME BRûLéE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Arrange six 3/4-cup ramekins or custard cups in 13x9x2-inch metal baking pan. Combine cream and 1/4 cup sugar in heavy medium saucepan; bring almost to simmer, stirring until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat; add coffee and whisk to dissolve. Whisk egg yolks in medium bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in warm cream mixture, then brandy and vanilla. Strain custard into 4-cup measuring cup; pour into ramekins, dividing equally. Pour enough hot water into pan to come halfway up sides of ramekins.
• Bake custards until center moves only slightly when pan is gently shaken, about 35 minutes. Remove custards from pan. Chill until cold, at least 3 hours, then cover and keep chilled overnight.
• Preheat broiler. Arrange custards on baking sheet. Press 1/2 tablespoon brown sugar through strainer onto each custard, forming even layer. Broil 6 inches from heat source until sugar melts, bubbles and caramelizes, watching carefully and rotating sheet for even browning, about 4 minutes. Refrigerate custards until sugar topping hardens, at least 1 hour and up to 4 hours before serving.

EASY 3-INGREDIENT VANILLA CREME BRûLéE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325°F. In a microwave-safe bowl, heat the ice cream in 20 second intervals, stirring between, until melted. Let the ice cream cool for 5 minutes. Whisk in egg yolks one at a time until the mixture is smooth and consistent. Pour evenly into 2 oven-safe ramekins.
• Move the ramekins to a baking dish with a high rim. Pour boiling water into the baking dish until half-way up each ramekin. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until set but still jiggly in the center. Allow to cool completely, then wrap with plastic wrap and transfer to the fridge for 2 hours or up to 3 days.
• When ready to serve, let the ramekins come to room temperature for 30 minutes, then sprinkle 1 tablespoon of sugar over each creme brulee. If you have a kitchen blow torch, torch the sugar until golden and bubbly. If you don't, broil on the top rack of the oven at 500°F for 2-3 minutes, watching to make sure they don't burn. Serve immediately.

BRANDY CRèME BRûLéE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 300°F. Place eight 6-ounce ramekin or crème brûlée dishes in a larger baking pan. Heat a kettle of water.
• Pour the cream into a heavy-bottomed 2-quart saucepan and whisk in 1/2 cup of sugar and the vanilla bean, with the scrapings. Bring to a simmer, then remove from heat, cover with plastic wrap, and let sit for about 10 minutes. Whisk 1/4 cup of sugar into the egg yolks until well mixed. Gently whisk the cream into the yolks, add the Herbsaint and brandy, then strain through a fine sieve.
• I actually prefer to fill the ramekins and water bath when the pan is already in the oven, so I don't spill either when I move them. Place the pan with the ramekins on the middle rack of the oven with the door open, and use a ladle to fill the ramekins with the custard. Carefully pour hot water into the pan about halfway up the sides of the ramekins, cover the pan with foil, then gently slide the oven rack into the oven. Bake the custards for about 40 minutes, rotating once. It is a good idea to take a peek after about 25 minutes and make sure they are not cooking too fast (in which case they would look overly dry and shriveled). This is especially good to do if you are using the shallow, wide variety of crème brûlée dishes. Custard is done when it's just barely set and jiggles when you move the ramekin. Remove them from the oven, uncover, let cool to room temperature, and then refrigerate. The custards should be chilled for about 2 hours before caramelizing with the sugar.
• Sprinkle the tops of the custards with a thin layer of sugar and brown under a broiler or with a butane torch held 4-6 inches from the surface. When the sugar starts to bubble and brown, sprinkle lightly with another layer of sugar and brown the second layer. You'll use about 1/2 cup of sugar in all. For the most crackly top, serve within 10 minutes of caramelizing.