 Crème Brulée
Crème Brulée is one of those classic desserts that appear on restaurant menus. The rich texture of the cream and egg yolks coats the mouth and leaves the diner feeling content. Crème Brulée however is not difficult to prepare and with a few general pointers can be achieved by the home cook. The two things that make it seem difficult are the cooking in the water bath or bain marie and the caramelising of the sugar before serving.
A water bath can be as simple as a deep pan or fry pan with a covering of water so that when the ramekins are placed in the water bath, the water comes half way up. Too much water and it could swamp the custard. Too little and custard cooks too much.
At Hay's we use a regular blow torch to caramelise the sugar on the top. This is just the regular home handi-man item. Alternatively you can use a grill to brown the sugar. When making Crème Brulée it is better to start the day before to allow the custard to set well before caramelising. When you refridgerate the custards make sure that you cover them with plastic film to prevent them absorbing all the interesting flavours of your fridge. The recipe below is from the Leith's Bible.
Crème Brulée serves 4
290 ml cream
1 vanilla pod or 1 tsp vanilla essence
4 egg yolks
1 tblsp caster sugar
extra caster sugar
- Put the cream and vanilla pod into a saucepan and heat to scalding point (just below boiling point), making sure it does not boil. Remove vanilla pod.
- Preheat oven to 170oC.
- Beat egg yolks with sugar till light and fluffy, then stir in warm cream. Place over a double boiler and stir continuously with a wooden spoon, till the custard is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon. If using vanilla essence, add it now.
- Pour the custard into an ovenproof serving dish and place in a roasting pan half-filled with hot water, or alternatively into individual ramekins. Bake in oven for 12 minutes for one dish, or 5 minutes for individual ramekins, to create a good skin on top. Chill overnight.
- Next day, preheat the grill to its highest setting. Sprinkle the top of the custard with a 5mm even layer of caster sugar.
- Place under a very hot grill as close to the heat as you can get to caramelise the sugar. Turn the dish to brown evenly.
- Cool before serving to allow the top to become hard and crackly.
- To serve: Crack the top with a serving spoon.
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