Recipes – Crème Brulée

Necessary
(for 8 people)
500ml (2 cups) heavy cream
120g (2/3 cup) fine cane sugar (pay attention: actual amount of sugar is to taste)
4 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
torch
8 oven-safe ramekins or disposable aluminum cups
baking pan fitting all ramekins, possibly

Preparation
Preheat oven at 180° C (350° F). Make sure you have all the necessary bowls, saucepans, and other tools in place.

In a saucepan heat up the cream and 1/3 of the sugar, stirring every now and then until small bubbles appear on the sides of the pan, about 5 minutes. Set aside.

In a bowl, mix well egg yolks and vanilla, then gradually stir in the hot cream. Make sure there are no lumps. Pour the mixture into the ramekins, and place the ramekins into the hot oven. If possible, put the oven-safe cups into a baking pan that is half full of water,* and cover the whole thing with aluminum foil. This will distribute heat as evenly as possible. Otherwise just bake, hey, we are no French chefs here. After about 35 minutes, the custard should be set. Remove and chill for 2-3 hours and possibly overnight.

Using a sieve, sprinkle the remaining sugar onto the custard, then burn it using the torch.** When the sugar becomes brown-black, it’s done. Let cool and serve.

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* Half full, because if it’s too full the ramekins will float and move around. Even fuller, and the ramekins will take in water. Yuck!
** Pay attention: a cold ramekin can only take so much heat before it cracks. (Higher quality ramekins can take more heat, but I’m not going to run experiments.) Burn at brief intervals and keep moving the torch around so no one point becomes too hot. Do not put too much sugar near the edges.

© Mattia Landoni 2010-2022.

About Author: Mattia

Financial Economist. Coder. Policy wonk. View all posts by Mattia

November 24, 2022
By Mattia
Category: Recipes