The Unbearable Lightness Of Brulee Recipes

BOURBON-SWEET POTATO BRULEE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Pierce the sweet potatoes all over with a fork, and then bake on a shallow baking pan until soft, about 1 hour (no need to wrap in foil). Remove the potatoes to cool. Lower the oven temperature to 325 degrees F.
• While the potatoes are cooling, whisk together the cream, brown sugar, bourbon, salt, and nutmeg. (You could also add cinnamon, though it may suggest pumpkin pie flavors and will over shadow the smoky bourbon flavor.)
• Peel the potatoes, and then cut into 2-inch pieces and mash until very smooth. Add the mashed potatoes to the cream mixture and whisk well to thoroughly combine.
• Pour the mixture into a 2-quart flameproof baking dish and bake 40 to 45 minutes. The custard will be firm but not dry looking when done.
• When ready to serve, evenly sprinkle the turbinado sugar over the top. Position the blowtorch flame just above the sugar and move the flame back and forth in rows until the entire top is slightly burnt. Let stand until the sugar hardens, about 4 to 5 minutes, and then serve. (No blowtorch? Run the dish under the broiler, 4 inches from the flame, about 5 to 8 minutes.)

THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BRULEE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
• Gently bring the cream to a boil in medium-size heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring it often. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar, and then add the passion fruit puree to the egg mixture. Pour 1/2 of the boiling cream into the egg mixture to temper it. Remove the pan of cream from the heat. Then return the tempered egg mixture back to the cream, and whisk to combine. Return the pan to the heat, and continue to heat it until it reaches 180 degrees F on a candy thermometer. Strain custard through a sieve into a pitcher-like container that you can easily pour from.
• Place 4 ramekins on a sheet tray. Divide the custard evenly among the ramekins, and place in the oven. Fill the pan half-way up the sides of ramekins with hot water. Bake for 10 minutes, and then turn the pan around, and bake for 15 minutes more, or until set. Remove from the oven, and let cool to room temperature in a water bath. Chill for at least 2 hours. Generously sprinkle the tops of the crème brulee with sugar, and then caramelize with a kitchen torch. If you do not have a kitchen torch, then place ramekins under the broiler for 1 to 2 minutes until sugar caramelizes.