CREME BRULEE

 CREME BRULEE

I stumbled across this recipe in The New York Times Food app. I was looking for something quick and easy. I was looking for something classic. I doubled the recipe for eight ramekins of creme instead of four. They hold in the fridge beautifully so if putting in the time, make more. If you make more you also end up with a nice amount of egg whites to whip into meringue for an additional sweet treat or maybe put it towards that pavlova recipe we worked on a few months ago.

To make it a bit more your own I would suggest steeping your heavy creme with a chai tea or even better the Queen of the South Tea from Magic Hour Tea here in Ojai. Someone mentioned in a comment that thyme steeped creme is also a special treat, which I’d be curious to try, as it is not a combination I would normally thing of blending. Just add the herbs or tea wrapped in cheese cloth to the heavy cream with the vanilla bean while warming it before you start the mix.

Ingredients

This makes 8 ramekins of creme brulee

4 cups of heavy cream, 1 vanilla bean split, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, 10 egg yolks, 1 cup sugar

additional sugar for topping, plus a torch for melting the sugar

Process

  1. Turn oven to 325 degrees F

  2. Combine heavy cream, salt, vanilla bean (and any additional herbs or teas) in a saucepan. Steep over low heat until the Cream is hot. Take off heat and let sit for a few minutes and then discard the vanilla bean and other herbs and teas.

  3. In a separate bowl beat yolks and sugar together.

  4. Stir in a quarter of the warmed cream into the egg mixture and then pour the egg mixture into the sauce pan of cream and stir

  5. Place ramekins in a baking dish and Pour creme into the ramekins.

  6. Fill the baking dish with boiling water halfway up the sides of the ramekins

  7. Bake for 30-40 minutes until the centers are just barely set. cool and refrigerate for up to a few hours or overnight

  8. Just before serving top the creme with a dusting of sugar and torch the sugar until it melts and turns a dark brown. If you do not have a torch you can put the creme in a broiler and melt the sugar that way too.

  9. Serve with a good spoon for cracking!