Classic Creme Brulee Recipe 455

CREME BRULEE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
• Beat egg yolks, 4 tablespoons white sugar and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl until thick and creamy.
• Pour cream into a saucepan and stir over low heat until it almost comes to boil. Remove the cream from heat immediately. Stir cream into the egg yolk mixture; beat until combined.
• Pour cream mixture into the top pan of a double boiler. Stir over simmering water until mixture lightly coats the back of a spoon, about 3 minutes. Remove mixture from heat immediately and pour into a shallow heat-proof dish.
• Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cool to room temperature. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight.
• Preheat oven to broil.
• In a small bowl combine remaining 2 tablespoons white sugar and brown sugar. Sift this mixture evenly over custard. Place dish under broiler until sugar melts, about 2 minutes. Watch carefully so as not to burn.
• Remove from heat and allow to cool. Refrigerate until custard is set again.

CLASSIC CREME BRULEE

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, combine the cream, egg yolks and sugar. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture reaches 160° or is thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon. Stir in vanilla. , Transfer to eight 6-oz. ramekins or custard cups. Place cups in a baking pan; add 1 in. of boiling water to pan. Bake, uncovered, at 325° for 25-30 minutes or until centers are just set (mixture will jiggle). Remove ramekins from water bath; cool for 10 minutes. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours., One hour before serving, place custards on a baking sheet. Sprinkle each with 1-2 teaspoons brown sugar. Broil 8 in. from the heat for 4-7 minutes or until sugar is caramelized. Refrigerate leftovers.

SIMPLE CREME BRULEE DESSERT

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Whisk 3 tablespoons sugar and cream in a microwave-safe bowl until well combined; heat the mixture in microwave until warm, 1 to 2 minutes, and whisk again to dissolve sugar. Whisk in egg yolks and vanilla extract until smooth.
• Pour cream mixture into 2 ramekins. Set ramekins into a roasting pan and pour in enough hot water to reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
• Bake in the preheated oven until creme desserts are set but still slightly jiggly when shaken, about 50 minutes. Remove ramekins from hot water and chill in refrigerator until cold, at least 2 hours.
• Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of sugar evenly over the top of each dessert. Use a kitchen torch to lightly toast and melt the sugar topping until brown and bubbly, about 30 seconds. Let the sugar topping cool before serving. To serve, use a spoon to crack the crisp sugar open to reveal the creamy dessert underneath.

CLASSIC CRèME BRûLéE

Steps:

• Put a rack in the middle of oven and preheat oven to 325°F.
• Pour cream into a 2-quart heavy saucepan. Using tip of a knife, scrape seeds from vanilla bean, if using, into cream and add pod (if using vanilla extract, do not add it yet). Heat cream over moderate heat until hot but not boiling; remove from heat and discard pod.
• Whisk together yolks, granulated sugar, and salt in a medium bowl until well combined. Add hot cream in a slow stream, whisking constantly until combined. Pour custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl and whisk in vanilla extract, if using. Ladle custard into ramekins.
• Arrange ramekins in a roasting pan and add enough boiling water to pan to reach halfway up sides of ramekins. Bake until custards are just set, 25 to 30 minutes. With tongs, transfer custards to a rack to cool, then refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 4 hours.
• Just before serving, sprinkle turbinado sugar evenly over custards. Move blowtorch flame evenly back and forth close to sugar until sugar is caramelized. Let stand until sugar is hardened, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Variation:
• Coffee Crème Brûlée: Stir 1 1/2 tablespoons instant espresso powder into the hot cream and proceed as directed.

CLASSIC CRèME BRûLéE

Steps:

• Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 300°F. Fill a teakettle with water and bring to a boil. Put four 5- or 6-oz. ramekins (about 3 inches in diameter and 1-3/4 inches deep) in a baking dish that's at least as deep as the ramekins.
• Pour the cream into a small saucepan. If using a vanilla bean, cut it in half lengthwise with the tip of a paring knife and, with the back of the blade, scrape out the sticky, black seeds. Add the seeds and scraped pod halves to the cream. Whisk briefly to disperse the seeds. (Don't over-whisk or you'll whip air into the cream.)
• Bring the cream just to a simmer over medium heat. Remove the pan from the heat, cover, and let sit for about 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a medium mixing bowl lightly whisk the egg yolks, 1/4 cup of the sugar, and a pinch of salt just to combine. Set aside.
• With an instant-read or a candy thermometer, check the temperature of the cream; it should be no higher than 165°F. (If it is, let cool to 165°F before proceeding.)
• Lightly whisk about 1/2 cup of the cream into the yolk mixture and stir for about 30 seconds; this tempers the yolks. Then gently whisk in the remaining cream, stirring for about 15 seconds to blend. Use a light hand-you don't want to make the mixture frothy or the baked custards will have a foamy-looking surface. If using vanilla extract, stir it in now.
• Set a fine sieve over a large Pyrex measuring cup or a heatproof bowl with a spout. Pour the custard base through the sieve to strain out any solids.
• Divide the custard base evenly among the four ramekins in the baking pan. There should be a little more than an inch of custard in each ramekin; it should not come all the way to the rim. Slowly pour hot water from the teakettle into the baking pan (don't get any water in the ramekins) until the water comes about two-thirds of the way up the sides of the ramekins.
• Carefully transfer the baking pan to the center of the oven, taking care not to slosh hot water onto yourself or into the ramekins. Lay a sheet of aluminum foil over the pan. Bake the custards until the edges are set about 1/3 inch in from the sides of the ramekins and the center is slightly jiggly (like Jell-O), 40 to 55 minutes. To test for doneness, reach into the oven with tongs and give one of the ramekins a gentle shake or nudge. If the custard responds with a wavelike motion rather than a slight jiggle, it's not firm enough; bake for another 5 minutes and check again. (If you're not sure about the doneness, stick an instant-read thermometer into the center of a custard-don't worry about making a hole; you'll cover it with sugar later-it should register 150° to 155°F.) The custards should not brown or rise.
• Carefully remove the baking pan from the oven and take the ramekins out of the water bath using rubber-band-wrapped tongs or a slotted spatula. Let the ramekins cool on a rack at room temperature for 30 minutes and then transfer, uncovered, to the refrigerator to cool completely. Once the custards are refrigerator-cold, wrap each ramekin with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours or up to 2 days before proceeding.
• Just before serving, remove the ramekins from the fridge and set them on a work surface. Working with one custard at a time, sprinkle 1/2 to 1 tsp. of the remaining sugar over each one-the more sugar, the thicker the crust. You may need to tilt and tap the ramekin to even out the layer of sugar. Wipe any sugar off the rim of the ramekin. Hold the torch flame 2 to 3 inches from the top of the custard and slowly glide it back and forth over the surface until the sugar melts and turns a deep golden brown. Allow the sugar to cool and harden for a few minutes, and then serve immediately, before the sugar softens and gets sticky.

CLASSIC CRèME BRûLéE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°F (160°C). Place four ½ cup (125 mL) ramekins or custard cups in a baking dish. Set aside.Heat cream in saucepan over medium-high heat until small bubbles form around edge of pan. Meanwhile, whisk egg yolks and a ¼ cup of sugar until thick and lemon-coloured - about 1 to 2 minutes.
• When cream is hot, gradually whisk into egg yolk mixture. Stir in vanilla. Pour mixture through sieve into ramekins, dividing evenly. Pour very hot water into baking dish to reach halfway up ramekins. Carefully place baking dish in oven. Bake until mostly set but with a slight jiggle in the centre, about 30 to 35 minutes for taller ramekins (about 2 inches (5 cm) high), and 25 to 30 minutes for shallow ramekins (about 1 inch (2.5 cm) high).Carefully remove ramekins from water. Cool on wire rack. When cool, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for least 2 hours and up to 2 days.
• Just before serving (or up to 2 hours before serving), sprinkle sugar evenly over surface of desserts (1 tsp for taller ramekins and 1-½ tsp for shallow ramekins). Using a mini torch or by placing the ramekins directly under the broiler, heat until sugar melts and caramelizes. Serve immediately, or for a firmer texture, chill until serving time.

CLASSIC FRENCH CRèME BRûLéE

Steps:

• Make sure you read the cooking notes before you start.
• Pre-heat your oven to 325F (170C) with a rack in the middle.
• In a medium saucepan, heat up the heavy whipping cream with the salt and vanilla seed scrapings (or vanilla extract). Do not bring the cream to a boil, just heat it up to let the vanilla infuse.
• In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks with ¼ cup (50g) sugar. Pour 2 tablespoons of the hot cream into the egg yolk mixture and stir (this tempers the egg yolks so they don't curdle later). Slowly stir in the rest of the hot cream while continuously whisking.
• Place 4 large (or 6 small) crèmes brûlées ramekins into a larger baking dish or sheet pan, and fill the ramekins with the crème. Fill the larger baking dish with water ¾ up the sides of the ramekins.
• Bake the crèmes for 40 minutes. The edges should be set and the center should still jiggle slightly.
• Carefully transfer to a cooling rack and let cool (ramekins still in the water bath). When cool enough to handle, transfer the ramekins out of the water bath and let cool to room temperature.
• Sprinkle sugar onto each crème and tap the dishes around gently to make sure the sugar evenly covers the tops. Make sure no cream is left exposed.
• Caramelize the tops quickly using a blow torch. Let cool 30 seconds for the top to harden and serve immediately.