Crème Brûlée.Can hardly pronounce it but certainly can make it.

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Crème brûlée
Alternative names	Burnt cream, crema catalana, Trinity cream
Type	Dessert
Place of origin	France
Serving temperature	Room temperature
Main ingredients	Custard, caramel
Cookbook:Crème brûlée   Crème brûlée

Crème brûlée being prepared with a small torch

Crème brûlée (/ˌkrɛm bruːˈleɪ/; French pronunciation: ​[kʁɛm bʁy.le]),^[1]also known as burnt cream, crema catalana, or Trinity cream^[2] is adessert consisting of a rich custard base topped with a contrasting layer of hard caramel. It is normally served at room temperature.

The custard base is traditionally flavored with vanilla, but can also be flavored with lemon or orange (zest), rosemary, lavender, chocolate,Amaretto, Grand Marnier, cinnamon, coffee, liqueurs, green tea,pistachio, hazelnut, coconut, or other fruit.

Contents

  

• 1 History
• 2 Crema catalana
• 3 Leite Creme
• 4 Technique
• 
  

History

The earliest known reference to crème brûlée as it is known today appears in François Massialot's 1691 cookbook,and the French name was used in the English translation of this book, but the 1731 edition of Massialot's Cuisinier roial et bourgeois changed the name of the same recipe from "crème brûlée" to "crème anglaise". In the early eighteenth century, the dessert was called "burnt cream" in English.

In Britain, a version of crème brûlée (known locally as "Trinity Cream" or "Cambridge burnt cream") was introduced at Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1879 with the college arms "impressed on top of the cream with a branding iron". The story goes that the recipe was from an Aberdeenshire country house and was offered by an undergraduate to the college cook, who turned it down. However, when the student became a Fellow, he managed to convince the cook.

Crema catalana[edit]

Crema catalana served in El Glop, Barcelona, Spain

In Catalan cuisine, crema catalana ("Catalan cream") orcrema cremada ("Burnt cream"), is a dish similar tocrème brûlée. It is traditionally served on Saint Joseph's Day (March the 19th) although nowadays it is consumed at all times of year. The custard is flavored with lemon or orange zest, and cinnamon. The sugar increma catalana is traditionally caramelized under an iron broiler or with a specially made iron, not with a flame. Sometimes Crema Catalana is baked with a pineapple on top.

Leite Creme

"Leite Creme" is a similar Portuguese dessert; the name is also used for crème caramel.

Technique

Crème brûlée flambé

Crème brûlée is usually served in individual ramekins. Discs of caramel may be prepared separately and put on top just before serving, or the caramel may be formed directly on top of the custard, immediately before serving. To do this, sugar is sprinkled onto the custard, then caramelized under a salamander broiler or with ablow torch.

Creme Brulee Recipe

This creme brulee recipe is really easy to make. Creme brulee is a simple custard, made with nothing but eggs, cream and sugar, along with a little vanilla.

To make creme brulee, you'll need some heatproof dishes called ramekins, shown in the picture here. You'll also need a creme brulee torch to caramelize the tops of the creme brulees when you're ready to serve them. You can even get a creme brulee setthat includes the torch and the ramekins.

What follows is the complete creme brulee recipe. For a step-by-step demo, see How to Make Creme Brulee.

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Cooling and chilling time: 4 hours, 30 minutes

Total Time: 5 hours, 20 minutes

Yield: Makes 6 creme brulees.

Ingredients:

• 8 extra-large eggs
• 1/3 cup sugar, plus extra sugar for caramelizing
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup half-and-half

So how do you make it?

To begin with, Pre-heat your oven to 150°C ( 300°F).

We'll be using the yolks of 8 extra large eggs for this Crème Brûlée recipe. To separate an egg, crack the egg and pull the shell apart into two equal-sized halves. Then, with a clean bowl underneath, simply shift the yolk back and forth from one half of the shell to the other, letting the whites fall into the bowl below. Collect the yolks in a large mixing bowl.

Save the egg whites to make a high-protein, low-fat omelet, a meringue or, for the stout of heart, a soufflé.

Beat the Yolks until  smooth

Using a whisk, beat the yolks for a minute or two, or until they're completely smooth.

Add the Sugar

Now add 1/3 cup sugar and continue to whisk for about 2 more minutes, or until the the sugar is fully incorporated and the yolks are a pale shade of yellow.

Add Pure Vanilla Extract

Add 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract and whisk until blended.

Add Cream

For this recipe we need 2 cups of cream. I like to use 1 cup of heavy cream and 1 cup of half and half. For a richer crème brûlée, use 2 cups heavy cream, or to make it a bit lighter, use 2 cups of half and half.

Add the cream and whisk until fully blended.

Strain the Custard Mixture

Straining the custard filters out any eggy bits to ensure a nice, smooth consistency. Carefully pour the custard through a wire strainer (known as a sieve).

Here's a tip: rinse any egg particles out of the sieve with cold water before washing it. Hot water will cook the egg particles into the wire mesh, making it really difficult to clean.

Set up your water bath

Fill a large roasting pan with an inch or two of warm water, and place your empty ramekins into pan. This water bath is called a bain-marie. The water should come about halfway up the ramekins. Baking the custards in a bain-marie keeps the air in the oven moist, and prevents the crème brûlées from cracking.

Pour the Custard into the Ramekins and Bake

Carefully pour the custard into the ramekins. Fill all the ramekins about halfway, then top up each one a little at a time. That way, you won't run out of custard before they're all full.

Now transfer the roasting pan into the oven. You're going to have to hold it steady so that you don't slosh water into the ramekins.

Bake for 35 minutes or until the edges are set but the centers just barely jiggle when you nudge the pan.

Cool in Water Bath

Prepare to Caramelize 

Remove the pan from the oven and allow the custards to cool in the water bath for 30 minutes or so. Then remove the ramekins, place them on a flat sheet pan or tray, cover with plastic and chill for at least 4 hours, up to overnight.

Bring Creme Brulees to Room Temperature

Now that you've got the crème part down, it's time for the brûlée — which means "burnt" in French. You'll be using a butane culinary torch for that. Familiarize yourself with how your particular model works and be sure to follow the safety instructions — you're playing with real fire here!

Your completed custards have chilled for at least four hours, but overnight is best. About 20 minutes before you want to caramelize them, take them out of the refrigerator and let them sit at room temperature.

Sprinkle Creme Brulees With Granulated Sugar

If any moisture condensation has formed on the Creme Brulee tops, gently dab it away with a paper towel, being careful not to dent the custard.

Then sprinkle the tops of the Creme Brulees with granulated white sugar. Be generous — you'll pour off the excess in a moment. But make sure you cover the whole surface, and swirl the ramekins to distribute the sugar evenly.

Shake Off Excess Sugar

Here's a tip: When you pour off the excess, pour it onto the next Creme Brulee, adding new sugar with a spoon as needed until all the Creme Brulees are covered, but there are no loose granules remaining.

Flame On!

Now the fun starts — it's time to fire up your torch! They all work differently, so follow the instructions for lighting yours, and adjust the length of the flame to medium.

Begin Lightly Torching the Sugar

Hold the torch a good distance away from the Creme Brulee and slowly move it closer, while sort of rotating the flame, keeping it constantly in motion. Once it gets close enough, you'll see the sugar start to liquefy and form little droplets on the surface.

Keep the Flame Moving!

As you continue cooking the sugar, you'll see little wisps of smoke puff up as the sugar begins to turn caramel-colored. You'll also smell the delicious aroma of cooked sugar, kind of like cotton candy.

Keep the flame moving so that it isn't focused on any one spot for too long. Pull the torch away if the sugar smokes excessively. Be sure to get the sugar along the edges of the ramekin as well as in the middle.

The Sugar Will Darken and Form a Glaze

You'll be seeing a nice, caramel-colored glaze form on top of the Creme Brulee. It's a bit tricky knowing exactly when to stop, but it's better to stop too soon than too late. If necessary, you can always fill in any underdone spots in a minute, when the sugar cools down a bit.

The Finished Creme Brulee

When you're finished you'll have a hard, glass-like glaze of caramelized sugar on top. Pop the Creme Brulees back into the refrigerator for 10 minutes or so before serving them, just to re-chill the Creme Brulees after they've been heated by the torch.

Serve Plain, or Garnished With Fresh Berries

You can serve the Creme Brulees just as they are, and they'll be absolutely delicious. But a few fresh berries and a dusting of powdered sugar is a nice, elegant touch.

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