Crème Brûlée is a really wonderful custard desert which impresses when you go to a restaurant but which also is very easy to make at home. I have been making this for a while and have gotten tired of having to find the recipe so I have documented one of my own here.
For my recipe I'm going for something very simple to make. I use half and half which I always have on hand for coffee and White Russians and vanilla extract. Heavy cream would be more traditional along with a vanilla bean but I think the desert is plenty good with these short cuts. When using a vanilla bean you usually steep it in the warm cream and then temper the egg with that. I am skipping this step as well and mix everything cold.
With all that this still makes a really nicely flavored custard with a nice soft and creamy texture which is lighter than when using cream (tried making it with whipping cream recently and I much prefer the texture with Half and Half).
Anyhow, here is the recipe so I never have to try to find one I like again
Recipe Details:
- 6 egg yokes
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 pint Half and Half
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 tsp Orange Liquor
- 1 pinch of salt
- Extra Sugar for Top (2-3 tsp is a good amount for a 4 in ramekin)
- Separate egg yokes into a mixing bowl
- Add sugar and mix thoroughly - the mix will become a lighter yellow color as you mix it
- Add the vanilla, orange liquor, salt, and half and half and mix
- Divide the mix into ramekins - this batch will make 4 ramekin worth
- Pre-heat oven to 325 F
- Have a pan of water in the oven and cook the ramekin in them - water bath will slow the cook. They take about 45 min to setup. You want them to be jiggly but not liquidy
- Let them cool on the counter top for an hour and then more to the fridge for a couple hrs
- Add sugar to the top and use a torch to caramelize it into a candy layer. I think some dark patches taste really nice. Doing a couple thin layers of sugar and two rounds of the torch seems to get a better layer. Move it back to the fridge for a couple hours to cool down before serving (or you could eat it right then as well)
