Thursday 3 March 2011

Crème Brûlée


Crème brûlée is one of my favourite desserts. Unfortunately when you order it at a restaurant it's often  dissapointing and far too big. This is my best recipe and has never failed me. 


The best part about this recipe is that the custard isn't too thick or overly rich. I like mine to still have a bit of a wobble and not be like eating baked clotted cream. 

It's the same custard recipe as the best-dessert-I've-ever-made. So if it's summer and the sun is shining in your part of the world, perhaps consider that version.

But right now, I want caramel.

I love my little blowtorch from Migros. Watching it work on meringue or sugar is mesmerising. I often sprinkle sugar over half a pink grapefruit and brûlée that. Partly because it tastes good and partly because it's fun.

About half an hour after pulling the custards out of the oven, I couldn't wait any more. I took one without chilling it, chucked some caster sugar on it and went to town with the blowtorch. 

While it was worth it at the time, do chill them and use granulated (caster seems to melt too quickly and then burn but that might have been my overenthusiasm). However good they are at first, they're just so much better later. Trust me. 

The next day I had to photograph one again after slightly burning the first. So - oh how awful is the life of a food blogger - I got to eat one at 3pm in the afternoon as a random snack. I still desperately didn't want to share with mum but somehow managed to hand over a slightly meagre half. 

There's nothing quite like smashing through a beautiful layer of caramel into gorgeous custard. I love the  gradation from warm at the top from the torching to still slightly chilled (not too cold, that upsets me) at the bottom...

I like my crème brûlée with plenty of  real vanilla. If I get to the bottom and it's not full of seeds, I will not be impressed. 

So yes, I do have a lot of opinions about crème brûlée. 

Do try this if you have a blowtorch. If you don't, I really would recommend one. Even if just for this. 

Crème brûlée
(adapted from Annie Bell's Gorgeous Desserts)

3 egg yolks
1 1/2 tbsp sugar (I use vanilla caster)
1/2 to 2/3 vanilla pod
300ml whipping/double cream (not too thick)

Preheat the oven to 160C/140C (fan). Place four small-medium ramekins into a small roasting tray. Put the kettle on to boil. Chop the pod into 1/2 inch chunks with a knife or scissors. Put in the bowl of a food processor along with the rest of the ingredients. Blend until the pod seems finely chopped and the seeds are distributed throughout the mixture.  Pour through a sieve into a jug. Pour into the ramekins, trying to evenly distribute between them. Place the tray into the oven and pour hot water from the kettle into the roasting tray carefully up to 1/2 way up the sides, avoiding it splashing into the ramekins. 
 Bake until they still wobble when shaken but are set and have a golden crust - about 50 minutes. Remove from the water to a rack and cool. When room temperature, place into the fridge for at least four hours (I've kept them in the fridge for up to 3 days).

When ready to brûlée, take them out onto the side for 5 minutes to take the proper chill off them before you start. Sprinkle about a tbsp of granulated sugar over the crust, spreading it evenly and making sure it reaches the sides. Fire up your blowtorch and start melting the sugar - I do one side then twist it 180 degrees. Keep going until it's deep golden brown and bubbling. Leave to cool for a few minutes so the pool of caramel sets then serve. 

(Makes 4, easily scaled up)

28 comments:

  1. Looks fab Emma. I soooo want a blow torch- ok that just sounds rude!!!! And I must agree, you do have some serious opinions abt creme brulee!

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  2. The pic with the Vanilla Granules in the bottom is TOO GOOD. I do not have a blow torch, I so wanna get one :(

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  3. These look delicious! My sister has bought be a kitchen blow torch for my birthday and I am very, VERY excited to make some crème brûlées. :D
    I have a question for you though, whenever I make any, they always have a slightly scrambled layer just on the very top. DO you know why this might be?

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  4. girlleastlikely -Do you mean that during baking in the oven you get a crust? That's normal. Or when you're torching? Perhaps if then make sure they're well chilled. Mine sometimes sort of melt very slightly underneath the caramel - you can see in the smashed in photo that some thinner creamy stuff has escaped.

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  5. Creme brulee is one of my all time favourite desserts. I very rarely make it at home because I can't control myself and will eat the lot myself! Yours look lovely.

    My husband almost set the kitchen on fire the other day... he filled it with gas, over the sink to catch any spillage. Then ignited it to test it out, and pointed it at the sink, where the spilt gas had fallen. I've never seen flames quite like it. Luckily it burnt out quite quickly before anything got damaged (apart from the hairs on his arm) but it was pretty scary at the time!

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  6. Normal, eh? Excellent! I was getting so worried I was doing something very, very wrong! :P

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  7. Aveen - wow, that does sound scary! I hate refilling mine, it's definitely the worst part of using one.

    girlleastlikely - yep! I thought so too the first time I made them. Apparently it helps in forming a good caramel top. When I made my wild strawberry ones (link up there) I carefully scraped it off but I reckon for normal brulee it's good. Shouldn't be too thick or dark though.

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  8. Creme Brulee has got to be one of my all time fave desserts too but I've never dared try to make it myself. I'm book marking the recipe though as you have inspired me to give it a try.

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  9. Oh yum, I love creme brulee, so creamy and delicious with that gorgeous sugar crunch you get on top!

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  10. What a classic :) mhhh...!
    Beautiful crème brûlée and great photographs!

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  11. I am with you.... Creme Brulee is one of my favorite things to eat!
    I have never made it myself and am so happy to have your tried and true recipe.
    Have you ever tried it with cardamom? I had cardamom creme brulee at a wonderful restaurant years ago and have never forgotten how delicious it was.
    Cheers,
    E

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  12. I haven't even had coffee yet, and now I want creme brulee! It looks amazing, and your description and opinion sounds remarkably like my own. I think I might have a look around for my torch over the school break--it's been far too long.
    :)

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  13. Divine goodness at the bottom, vanilla beans... I can almost taste it, I'm salivating. Love the shabby chic rustic back drop.

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  14. Blowtorch has been on my want list like forever. Gonna tell the husband YOU said it was indispensable to make fabulous crème brule. Perhaps he might quicker buy the story if I first make it for him:-)

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  15. This looks magnificent. I'm so excited to now follow your beautiful recipes..

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  16. I can never get my brule to brown nicely under the grill, but I'm too scared to use a blowtorch!

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  17. yummy supper - Thanks! I made some cardamon baked custards ages ago and I didn't like them - but then cardamon isn't my favourite flavour. Try it and tell me how it goes :)

    WizzyTheStick - Hehe, I hope you get one! They're great fun.

    Cinabar - Don't be scared! The heat is so focused and your hands etc aren't close to the flame. Promise they're not awful.

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  18. mmmm creme brulee is my favorite too

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  19. It goes without saying that I love a custard recipe. Must go and get a blow torch v soon. I also dislike the trend of creme brulee getting more and more solid in restaurants. It should be soft, creamy and have the memory of a wobble about it so it's a great contrast of texture through the caramel. That's it - just convinced myself to get a blow torch Today!

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  20. Sally - I totally agree, a slight wobble is essential. Enjoy your blow torch!

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  21. I wouldn't say that creme brulee is one of my favorite desserts. I too have often been dissapointed when I've ordered them from restaurants. I've tried about five different recipes and while they've all been enjoyable they've all been either too rich, too thick or to thin a consistency. I was really impressed by the amount of vanilla seeds I saw in your pictures and the method you've used is a little different to the ones I've previously tested so I'm going to give yours a go and see if it can change my mind. Thanks for sharing!

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    1. I hope you'll like this recipe - as you say, they don't often hit the mark. I've always been very impressed with the result :)

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    2. I finally got the chance to try the recipe. I followed the instructions and ingredients as required, but the result I got was horrible! The brulee was curdled and watery and the crust was thick and made caramelizing the sugar very difficult. I'm not sure what went wrong but all I can say is the use of double cream in creme brulees has never worked out for me. I already have another recipe which uses 1/2 milk and 1/2 pouring/pure cream, which works every time and isn't too rich. One thing you might want to add is skimming any additional froth off the top of the mixture before distributing it into the ramekins to prevent such a thick crust from forming.

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    3. I'm really sorry to hear that it didn't work for you. As I said, I've always had flawless results.

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  22. Emma, My fiance is allergic to egg. Do you have any eggless custard recipe?

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    1. I'm afraid I don't know much about egg substitution - especially in something like this where it's such a key ingredient. Perhaps try asking someone who specialises is vegan or egg free cooking or baking? Sorry I'm not more help.

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  23. Hi Emma. I made this yesterday and wanted to thank you for recipe. It is really easy, especially given that you don't need to pre-cook the custard and just whizz everything up instead and pop it in the oven. The result was great. It was a little lighter than a traditional creme brulee, and actually after a meal this is not a bad thing. We will try a more traditional method involving cooking the custard to compare. The only let down was the topping, and it has nothing to do with your recipe! I think we need some practice with our blowtorch! It was its first outing and we ended up with a few burnt bits! Still a delicious dessert though!

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