Classic Crème Brûlée Recipes

CLASSIC CREME BRULEE

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, combine the cream, egg yolks and sugar. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture reaches 160° or is thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon. Stir in vanilla. , Transfer to eight 6-oz. ramekins or custard cups. Place cups in a baking pan; add 1 in. of boiling water to pan. Bake, uncovered, at 325° for 25-30 minutes or until centers are just set (mixture will jiggle). Remove ramekins from water bath; cool for 10 minutes. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours., One hour before serving, place custards on a baking sheet. Sprinkle each with 1-2 teaspoons brown sugar. Broil 8 in. from the heat for 4-7 minutes or until sugar is caramelized. Refrigerate leftovers.

CLASSIC CRèME BRûLéE

Steps:

• Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 300°F. Fill a teakettle with water and bring to a boil. Put four 5- or 6-oz. ramekins (about 3 inches in diameter and 1-3/4 inches deep) in a baking dish that's at least as deep as the ramekins.
• Pour the cream into a small saucepan. If using a vanilla bean, cut it in half lengthwise with the tip of a paring knife and, with the back of the blade, scrape out the sticky, black seeds. Add the seeds and scraped pod halves to the cream. Whisk briefly to disperse the seeds. (Don't over-whisk or you'll whip air into the cream.)
• Bring the cream just to a simmer over medium heat. Remove the pan from the heat, cover, and let sit for about 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a medium mixing bowl lightly whisk the egg yolks, 1/4 cup of the sugar, and a pinch of salt just to combine. Set aside.
• With an instant-read or a candy thermometer, check the temperature of the cream; it should be no higher than 165°F. (If it is, let cool to 165°F before proceeding.)
• Lightly whisk about 1/2 cup of the cream into the yolk mixture and stir for about 30 seconds; this tempers the yolks. Then gently whisk in the remaining cream, stirring for about 15 seconds to blend. Use a light hand-you don't want to make the mixture frothy or the baked custards will have a foamy-looking surface. If using vanilla extract, stir it in now.
• Set a fine sieve over a large Pyrex measuring cup or a heatproof bowl with a spout. Pour the custard base through the sieve to strain out any solids.
• Divide the custard base evenly among the four ramekins in the baking pan. There should be a little more than an inch of custard in each ramekin; it should not come all the way to the rim. Slowly pour hot water from the teakettle into the baking pan (don't get any water in the ramekins) until the water comes about two-thirds of the way up the sides of the ramekins.
• Carefully transfer the baking pan to the center of the oven, taking care not to slosh hot water onto yourself or into the ramekins. Lay a sheet of aluminum foil over the pan. Bake the custards until the edges are set about 1/3 inch in from the sides of the ramekins and the center is slightly jiggly (like Jell-O), 40 to 55 minutes. To test for doneness, reach into the oven with tongs and give one of the ramekins a gentle shake or nudge. If the custard responds with a wavelike motion rather than a slight jiggle, it's not firm enough; bake for another 5 minutes and check again. (If you're not sure about the doneness, stick an instant-read thermometer into the center of a custard-don't worry about making a hole; you'll cover it with sugar later-it should register 150° to 155°F.) The custards should not brown or rise.
• Carefully remove the baking pan from the oven and take the ramekins out of the water bath using rubber-band-wrapped tongs or a slotted spatula. Let the ramekins cool on a rack at room temperature for 30 minutes and then transfer, uncovered, to the refrigerator to cool completely. Once the custards are refrigerator-cold, wrap each ramekin with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours or up to 2 days before proceeding.
• Just before serving, remove the ramekins from the fridge and set them on a work surface. Working with one custard at a time, sprinkle 1/2 to 1 tsp. of the remaining sugar over each one-the more sugar, the thicker the crust. You may need to tilt and tap the ramekin to even out the layer of sugar. Wipe any sugar off the rim of the ramekin. Hold the torch flame 2 to 3 inches from the top of the custard and slowly glide it back and forth over the surface until the sugar melts and turns a deep golden brown. Allow the sugar to cool and harden for a few minutes, and then serve immediately, before the sugar softens and gets sticky.

CLASSIC CRèME BRûLéE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°F (160°C). Place four ½ cup (125 mL) ramekins or custard cups in a baking dish. Set aside.Heat cream in saucepan over medium-high heat until small bubbles form around edge of pan. Meanwhile, whisk egg yolks and a ¼ cup of sugar until thick and lemon-coloured - about 1 to 2 minutes.
• When cream is hot, gradually whisk into egg yolk mixture. Stir in vanilla. Pour mixture through sieve into ramekins, dividing evenly. Pour very hot water into baking dish to reach halfway up ramekins. Carefully place baking dish in oven. Bake until mostly set but with a slight jiggle in the centre, about 30 to 35 minutes for taller ramekins (about 2 inches (5 cm) high), and 25 to 30 minutes for shallow ramekins (about 1 inch (2.5 cm) high).Carefully remove ramekins from water. Cool on wire rack. When cool, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for least 2 hours and up to 2 days.
• Just before serving (or up to 2 hours before serving), sprinkle sugar evenly over surface of desserts (1 tsp for taller ramekins and 1-½ tsp for shallow ramekins). Using a mini torch or by placing the ramekins directly under the broiler, heat until sugar melts and caramelizes. Serve immediately, or for a firmer texture, chill until serving time.

CLASSIC CREME BRULEE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Prepare some boiling water.
• Combine cream and 5 teaspoons sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until small bubbles appear around the edges of the pan, 5 to 6 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
• Beat egg yolks and vanilla in a bowl until smooth and light. Pour hot cream mixture into the egg yolks, a little at a time, and beat continuously until well blended. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl. Divide evenly among four 3-ounce ramekins.
• Arrange ramekins in a baking pan and place on the middle shelf of the preheated oven. Pour boiling water into the baking pan until halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Cover the pan loosely with aluminum foil.
• Bake until custard is just set and jiggles when gently shaken, about 25 minutes. Carefully remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Transfer to the refrigerator to chill for 2 to 3 hours, or overnight.
• Sprinkle remaining sugar evenly over top of the cooled custards. With a kitchen torch, move the flame continuously in a circular motion over the surface of each ramekin, until the sugar melts and becomes golden brown and bubbly. Serve immediately.

CREME BRULEE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Place the cream, vanilla bean and its pulp into a medium saucepan set over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat, cover and allow to sit for 15 minutes. Remove the vanilla bean and reserve for another use.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup sugar and the egg yolks until well blended and it just starts to lighten in color. Add the cream a little at a time, stirring continually. Pour the liquid into 6 (7 to 8-ounce) ramekins. Place the ramekins into a large cake pan or roasting pan. Pour enough hot water into the pan to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake just until the creme brulee is set, but still trembling in the center, approximately 40 to 45 minutes.
• Remove the ramekins from the roasting pan and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 3 days. Remove the creme brulee from the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes prior to browning the sugar on top. Divide the remaining 1/2 cup vanilla sugar equally among the 6 dishes and spread evenly on top. Using a torch, melt the sugar and form a crispy top. Allow the creme brulee to sit for at least 5 minutes before serving.

CLASSIC INFUSED CREME BRULEE

Steps:

• Place an oven rack slightly lower than center in oven and preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
• Whisk milk, cream, 2/3 cup sugar, salt, scrapings from vanilla bean, and split vanilla bean in a saucepan over medium heat until the mixture just reaches a boil; remove from heat and set aside to cool, about 10 minutes.
• Whisk egg yolks in a bowl for a few strokes; whisk in hot cream mixture about 1 tablespoon at a time at first, whisking thoroughly before adding the next amount. As the yolk mixture becomes warmer, increase the amount of cream mixture you whisk in to about 1/4 cup at a time.
• Strain the cream through a fine sieve and spoon into eight 4-ounce ramekins. Discard spent vanilla pod. Set the ramekins into a roasting pan and pour in enough hot water to reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the desserts are softly set, 40 to 45 minutes. Remove the roasting pan and let the desserts cool in the water bath to room temperature. Chill in refrigerator at least 2 hours. Desserts will hold for 2 to 3 days in refrigerator before topping with sugar.
• Sprinkle about 1/2 tablespoon of sugar evenly over the top of each dessert. Use a kitchen torch to lightly brown and caramelize the sugar until melted, about 1 minute. Move the torch quickly to avoid burning. Let caramelized topping cool for about 10 minutes, then serve.

CLASSIC CRèME BRûLéE

Steps:

• Put a rack in the middle of oven and preheat oven to 325°F.
• Pour cream into a 2-quart heavy saucepan. Using tip of a knife, scrape seeds from vanilla bean, if using, into cream and add pod (if using vanilla extract, do not add it yet). Heat cream over moderate heat until hot but not boiling; remove from heat and discard pod.
• Whisk together yolks, granulated sugar, and salt in a medium bowl until well combined. Add hot cream in a slow stream, whisking constantly until combined. Pour custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl and whisk in vanilla extract, if using. Ladle custard into ramekins.
• Arrange ramekins in a roasting pan and add enough boiling water to pan to reach halfway up sides of ramekins. Bake until custards are just set, 25 to 30 minutes. With tongs, transfer custards to a rack to cool, then refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 4 hours.
• Just before serving, sprinkle turbinado sugar evenly over custards. Move blowtorch flame evenly back and forth close to sugar until sugar is caramelized. Let stand until sugar is hardened, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Variation:
• Coffee Crème Brûlée: Stir 1 1/2 tablespoons instant espresso powder into the hot cream and proceed as directed.