Crème Brûlée

Happy birthday to Dad!!!!

(a month or so late... it's been a while)

We were sifting through some cookbooks a while ago, searching for a dessert to make. Dad piped up and said he really liked crème brûlée. Although we didn't have all the ingredients on hand at the time, we tucked the idea away for a very special occasion... like his birthday!

Crème brûlée has a reputation as being difficult to make. It brings to mind images of blowtorches (which you can use, but the oven broiler is sufficient) and flames - which really, adds to the allure... and the fun. If you go the blowtorch route, just make sure you keep a fire extinguisher handy.

Crème Brûlée

The recipe we used came from Canadian Living Cooks Step by Step, by Daphna Rabinovitch. The awesome thing about this book is that it really is step-by-step. Plus, there are a ton of photos. Without further ado:

3 cups whipping cream

8 egg yolks

1/3 granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

• Those 5 ingredients are all it takes to create 8 little masterpieces. We halved the recipe - feel free to adjust according to the number of servings you need.
• In a small pot, heat cream over medium-high until steaming hot (careful, milk burns easily). In a medium-sized bowl, whisk egg yolks with granulated sugar, then whisk in cream. Add vanilla.
• Skim off foam. Divide mixture between 8 ramekins... we had to scrounge around for oven-safe cups. Be creative. We were. (onion soup bowl, anyone? presentation points were definitely deducted)
• Boil water. Place ramekins in a large shallow pan. Pour boiling water into pan, so it's halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
• Bake in 350 F oven for 30 - 35 minutes (watch carefully!). Edges should be set, but the centers should still be a little jiggly. If you stick a small knife into a center, it will come out creamy. Remove from oven.
• Remove ramekins from water and let cool. Cover and refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours, or a maximum of 2 days.
• Fill shallow pan with ice cubes. Nestle chilled custards into ice cubes and sprinkle with brown sugar.
• Broil 6 inches from heat for 2 - 6 minutes (it took about 5 minutes for ours), or until sugar bubbles and turns carmel-y. Remove ramekins as soon as they're ready - one at a time, if necessary.
• Chill, uncovered, for a few minutes. Serve.

Careful not to overbeat the eggs - it will make the custard too foamy.

Try to find oven-safe cups of uniform size.

Water bath time!

Ready for the oven. Watch carefully while it bakes -

overbaking can cause separating and the crème brûlée may turn watery.

Canadian Living suggests a variation on traditional crème brûlée - adding orange! We haven't tried this yet, but you might want to experiment a little.

• Add 2 tablespoons of grated orange rind to cold cream before heating. Strain hot cream and discard rind. Substitute 2 tablespoons of orange juice (or liqueur, if you want to jazz things up even more) for the vanilla.

p.s. All those accents in "crème brûlée" - they can be tough to type! Mac computers have cool shortcuts though - check out "How To Type French Accents".