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Crème Brûlée

A baked yolk custard chilled hard and burnt under sugar at the last minute, where the contrast only exists for about twenty minutes.

Egg. Vegetarian, but not vegan — contains egg, dairy (double cream).

Ingredients

Method

  1. THE SUGAR IS BURNT AT THE LAST MINUTE AND NOT BEFORE. A caramelised top begins dissolving into the cold custard under it within about twenty minutes, and the whole dish is the contrast between a hard shell and a cold cream. Made in advance and bruléed early, it is a pleasant custard with a sticky lid.
  2. THE CUSTARD IS BAKED IN A WATER BATH AT A LOW HEAT. Direct oven heat on the sides of a ramekin sets the outside into scrambled egg before the middle has thickened. The water holds everything at 100C or below and the custard sets evenly.
  3. AND IT IS PULLED OUT WOBBLING. The centre should move as a whole when the tin is nudged -- not liquid, not firm. It finishes setting as it cools and again in the fridge. Baked until firm it is grainy when cold.
  4. Cream and the split vanilla pod brought to just below boiling, then taken off and left 20 minutes to infuse.
  5. Yolks and the 75 g of sugar whisked until just combined -- NOT until pale and thick. Air beaten in now makes a foam on the surface that bakes into a dry crust.
  6. The warm cream poured onto the yolks in a thin stream while whisking gently.
  7. Strained through a fine sieve into a jug, which removes the vanilla pod, any thread of cooked egg and most of the bubbles.
  8. Left to stand 5 minutes and any remaining foam skimmed off the top.
  9. Poured into six shallow ramekins set in a roasting tin. Boiling water poured into the tin to come halfway up the sides.
  10. Baked at 140C for 30 to 40 minutes. Shallow dishes set faster than deep ones, so check from 25.
  11. Lifted out of the water, cooled, then chilled at least 4 hours and up to 2 days.
  12. JUST BEFORE SERVING: a teaspoon of sugar over each, tilted to spread it in a thin even layer, and burnt with a blowtorch in small circles until deep amber. Under a grill it works but the custard warms, so the dishes go back in the freezer for 5 minutes first.
  13. Left 2 minutes for the sugar to harden, then served. Not longer.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under France · All recipes