Creme Brulee Tango Recipes

TANGELO CRèME BRûLéE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Finely grate enough zest from tangelos to measure 1 tablespoon. Squeeze enough juice from tangelos to measure 2 cups. In a large bowl gently whisk together whole eggs and egg white until combined well. Add zest, tangelo and lemon juices, and granulated sugar and whisk just until sugar is dissolved.
• Divide custard among six 1/2-cup ramekins. Put ramekins in a baking pan and add enough hot water to pan to reach halfway up sides of ramekins. Loosely cover pan with foil and bake custards in lower third of oven until just set but still trembling slightly, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove ramekins from pan and cool custards on a rack. Chill custards, loosely covered with plastic wrap, until firm, at least 2 hours, and up to 1 day. Set broiler rack so that tops of custards will be 2 to 3 inches from heat and preheat broiler (or have ready a blow torch).
• Just before serving, sprinkle 1 teaspoon turbinado sugar evenly over each custard and caramelize under broiler (or with blow torch, moving flame evenly back and forth just over sugar) until sugar is melted and deep golden.

THE BEST CREME BRULEE

Steps:

• Arrange a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 300 degrees F. Line a large heavy roasting pan (a turkey roasting pan works great) with a clean kitchen towel and place 4 six-ounce ramekins on top of the towel spaced a few inches apart.
• Heat the cream in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Using the back of a paring knife, scrape the vanilla seeds from both halves of the pod. Add the seeds and pod to the cream. Whisk in the salt and 3 tablespoons of the sugar and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat.
• Vigorously whisk the yolks and 3 more tablespoons of the sugar in a large bowl until pale yellow and very thick and creamy, about 2 minutes. Alternatively, you can use an electric mixer on high speed and beat until pale yellow and very thick and creamy, about 1 minute.
• Whisking the yolks constantly, add a couple of teaspoons at a time from 1 cup of the hot cream, then increase to a steady stream until the cream is fully incorporated. (Don't pour too much hot cream at once or you'll end up with scrambled eggs.) The yolks are now tempered. Whisk the tempered yolks back into the remaining hot cream until combined. Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a large measuring cup or medium pitcher for easier pouring; discard the vanilla pods.
• Skim the foam off the top of the custard by placing a clean paper towel on top and lightly pressing down so it touches the surface and absorbs some of the liquid. This will make for a completely smooth and silky custard. Fill the ramekins with the custard, about 3/4 cup per ramekin.
• Carefully pour boiling water into the roasting pan halfway up the sides of the ramekins without getting any water in the custard. Cover the pan tightly with foil and bake until the custard is set around the edges but still has a slight jiggle in the center, 35 to 45 minutes. Carefully remove the roasting pan from the oven and transfer the ramekins to a wire rack to cool for 30 minutes. Then refrigerate until very cold, about 3 hours.
• Just before serving, evenly spread 1 tablespoon of the sugar over the top of a custard. Hold a kitchen torch 2 inches above the surface. Starting in the center of the ramekin, move the flame in a circular motion and work your way out to the edges to caramelize the sugar. Repeat with the remaining sugar and custards.
• Alternatively, arrange a rack in the top position of the oven and heat the broiler on high. Place the ramekins on a rack set inside a baking sheet and broil until deep golden brown, 15 to 60 seconds, checking every 10 seconds.
• Freeze the custards for 5 minutes before serving (see Cook's Note).

CREME BRULEE TANGO

Steps:

• First, there is some equipment that you will need for this recipe. (1) You'll need 8 ramekins (7 oz) (2) a kitchen blowtorch (I know "they say" that you can caramelize the top using the broiler, but try as I might I have never been able to accomplish this without destroying the custard beneath the sugar topping - which is just a crime. Even if you only ever get a blowtorch for this recipe - it'll be worth the $15-$25).
• Place 2 tablespoons of the chocolate chips into each of the ramekins. Carefully melt the chocolate chips in the microwave, stirring every 20-30 seconds, until you can stir the lumps out (about 1 1/2 minutes each).
• Drop in 1/8 teaspoon of Cayenne Pepper and mix it into the chocolate until well blended. Then, using a small spatula, spread the chocolate out in an even layer up the sides and along the bottom of the ramekins. You want to leave some room at the rim, so stop about half an inch or so down. Then place the ramekins into the refrigerator until you're ready for them.
• Preheat the oven to 325 and move the rack into the center of the oven.
• To prepare the vanilla bean, use a paring knife to carefully slice it in half lengthwise; then you can use the paring knife to scrape the seeds out of their pods and get ready to infuse the milks with their flavor.
• Pour the whipping cream and the whole milk into a saucepan. Add the vanilla seeds and the pod and bring to a simmer over medium heat, being sure to stir constantly.
• Once the milk is simmering, reduce the heat to low and allow it to simmer while the vanilla flavor is infused. This usually takes about 12-15 minutes. You do not have to be stirring it constantly while you do this, but do make sure you watch it carefully and do not let a skin form on the top.
• Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and the kosher salt until well blended. Then slowly add the sugar while continuing to whisk.
• Once the milky mixture finished, remove the vanilla pod. Get a kettle or another sauce pan filled with water over high heat and start that to boiling while you assemble the custard.
• Slowly pour the milky mixture into the eggs, making sure to whisk the entire time.
• Once everything is whisked together, use a spatula or large spoon to carefully skim any foam or bubbles from the top of the custard. Then retrieve your ramekins from the refrigerator and arrange them in a large, deep baking pan. I use a 11x15x2 cake pan.
• Carefully ladle the custard into the ramekins so that each receives an equal amount. It should come just to the edge of your chocolate lining.
• This is when you're going to build your water bath. Place the entire pan onto the rack of your oven (you'll need to pull the rack out a little bit to allow yourself enough room to work). Then carefully pour the boiling water into the pan (hence the use of the kettle; if you don't have a kettle, use a sauce pan to boil the water and move the water to a pitcher before pouring into the pan. This will give you added control). Do not let any water get into any of the ramekins. Fill the cake pan with the water until it comes up to about halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
• Bake in the oven for 45 minutes to an hour. I usually start check at the 40 minute mark. You're looking for the custards to be set, so as you pull them out of the oven you should not see them jiggling very much.
• Carefully move the custards from the water bath and into the refrigerator. Chill uncovered for 3 hour. You don't want to use a cover to chill these at first, because condensation will form and wreck their beautiful texture.
• After the 3 hours pass, use plastic wrap to cover the custards. Make sure that the plastic wrap actually touches the top of the custard - which will ensure that no air is getting through.
• At this point, you can serve whenever you're ready. The custards will keep for a a week or two in the refrigerator like this, but you'll probably want to dig in before that.
• To serve, top each ramekin with 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons of the turbinado sugar. You can tilt the ramekins to spread the sugar out evenly. Then, get ready to torch them. Make sure you hold the blowtorch about 2-3 inches away from the sugar - and keep moving. If you leave the torch sitting over one spot for too long, you'll puncture through to the custard which is not what we want. Continue to evenly heat up the sugar until it melts together into a caramel colored crust. This is only going to take you about a minute or two per serving.
• Once you've caramelized the top, you can place the custards back into the refrigerator for up to 10-15 minutes. You really should serve them right away, though; after a few minutes, the caramelized sugar will start to soften and you'll lose some of that crispy drama.

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.

TANGERINE CRèME BRûLéE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Place ramekins in a roasting pan or other suitable ovenproof dish taller than the ramekins. Add hot water to pan until it reaches about three-quarters up sides of ramekins. Remove ramekins from water and place pan in oven (make sure there is no rack directly above it, so you'll have room to return filled ramekins to pan). Set ramekins aside.
• In a saucepan, combine cream and tangerine zest. Over medium heat, warm cream to the scalding point, stirring occasionally.
• In a medium bowl, lightly whisk together eggs and egg yolks. Whisk in 1/2 cup brown sugar and tangerine juice.
• Pour egg mixture into cream, stirring constantly. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and vanilla extract. Strain custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a container that is easy to pour from.
• Divide custard evenly among ramekins; each one should be about three-quarters full. Carefully place filled ramekins in hot water bath.
• Bake custards for 25-30 minutes, or until they are just set (make sure not to overcook them-better under than over). Remove ramekins from water bath and place on a kitchen towel. Allow custards to cool for about 20 minutes, then refrigerate, covered, until thoroughly chilled. (Custards will keep up to 5 days in the refrigerator.)
• Reduce oven temperature to 300°. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Spread remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar into an even, thin layer on pan. Bake until sugar starts to dry out (about 5 minutes). Remove from oven, allow to cool, then roll sugar with a rolling pin to break it up into granules again. Set aside in an airtight container until you are ready to serve the crème brûlées.
• Sprinkle brown sugar evenly on tops of custards. Pass a kitchen torch over custards with quick swirling motions until sugar caramelizes.