Sunday, September 20, 2015

The Crème of the Crop

Happy weekend! I hope your week went well! Mine was pretty busy like always, but Saturdays are the best because they’re the one-day I get to sleep in with no problems. But I digress; are you ready for another recipe? Today’s recipe is one that I’ve been making for a little over six years now because it is my father’s favorite: crème brulee! This dish is a custard-dessert with a burnt-sugar coating on top, and the contrast between the soft jelly-custard and crusty sugar is impossible to get enough of! The only problem with this recipe is that the burnt sugar requires a blowtorch. I have my own, and it cost between about $20 and $40, but there is another method for creating that surface which uses an automatic lighter, which is much cheaper and easier to get!

Ingredients
·      2 cups of heavy cream (I prefer to use half-and-half or whole milk so that the custard is lighter, but use whichever milk you would like; you should use a milk with a bit of fat in it though)
·      8 large egg yolks or 4 large eggs (I normally use full eggs because I don’t want to deal with leftover egg whites, but if you plan on making meringue or angel food cake or have another use for the whites, go with the egg yolks!)
·      ½ cup granulated sugar
·      ¾ tsp vanilla

Preheat the oven to 325ºF. Place 6-8 ramekins on a baking tray, and fill the tray halfway with water. Warm the milk to barely a simmer (It should NOT boil). Whisk the eggs and sugar together until the sugar has dissolved. Slowly pour the milk into the egg mixture and whisk to combine. Strain the mixture and stir in the vanilla extract. Fill the ramekins a bit more than ¾ full with the milk-egg mixture and place the tray in the oven carefully to bake for about 30 to 35 minutes. Once you take the tray out and let the custards cool to room temperature, cover each with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours. Once the custards have been chilled, cover with one of the following:

Torch It!
If you have a blowtorch, awesome! If not, bring out that automatic lighter and get ready to burn some sugar crystals. Sprinkle a very thin layer of granulated sugar over the custards, ignite your torch, and caramelize the top until the sugar has melted. Continue to do this until you’ve achieved the crispy top you desire.  

This recipe isn’t too complicated and doesn’t take a lot of time, so give it a try when you have a chance! Enjoy this fancy French dessert!

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