Thursday, January 14, 2010

Day Off Dessert - Creme Brulee

Had to make some comfort food on my day off. Yes, a dessert this time. Creme Brulee. It's a rich vanilla custard with a caramelized sugar crust, and it is 100% yummy. Here's how I made it.

First, gotta have all the cream a single cow can make in a week. Can you guess what my favorite local dairy store is? They just didn't have enough on the shelf today. A REAL vanilla bean is must. I got this one a few days ago and kept it out in the kitchen all week coz it smelled sooooo good!


Next, you need some superfine sugar. I like to use pure cane sugar. You also need all the eggs a hen can lay in a week.


I like to add a couple of tablespoons of orange liqueur just because it tastes so good. Grand Marnier it is then! Yes, Cointreau works too, but some days you just gotta splurge.


Cut and scrape the vanilla bean. Add its goodness to the cream and bring it all gently up to a boil. Let it cool for a little bit. Whisk the eggs and sugar together without foaming it up. Now add the cooled, strained vanilla cream to the eggs and sugar mix. You want the cream cool now so you make a custard instead of an omelette. Add all that happiness to ramekins relaxing in a hot bat.


Bake for awhile, just until a knife comes back clean when it pierces your still trembly, jiggly custard delight. Let the ramekins cool.

Now to top all of this with a crunchy sense of joy. You'll need some brown sugar for that. Amen.


Sprinkle your brown sugar over the vanilla custard. Then melt the sugar to a carmel colored liquid with heat. Some people use a torch, I prefer the toasting it with the broiler in my oven. Watch it closely so that it melts rather than burns. It's pretty much perfect when it bubbles, is evenly melted, and your oven starts to smell like cotton candy.

Here's mine ...


There are six of them altogether. Would anyone care for a dessert? My treat!

7 comments:

kylie said...

yes! yes! yes!

Maria said...

Yes, please. I will have two, um...three.

Leah said...

Those are beautiful. I've always wanted to try to make them.

Leni Qinan said...

Mmm... could i please have one of those?

Amber Star said...

I've never had creme brulee and I'll bet is is fabulous. I've heard people talk about cracking the top layer woth the spoon and the sound and the smell and all of that. It must be really wonderful.

Sheetal said...

Hi there!
Followed the link to your blog from mine. You have a cool blog too :)
Sheetal

teenie said...

My husband-the chef-has never made me creme brulee, but he says yours looked good! I haven't tried any before, but it does sound yummy!
You should try out the website www.ThePioneerWoman.com by Ree Drummond. She is from Pawhuska, OK. She wrote a fab cookbook that details instructions with photos. It is not Julia Childs, but it is well done!