Foolproof creme brulee is easier than you might think to make at home and is guaranteed to wow everyone.
Beneath the surface, however, there’s a lot happening!
Understanding the techniques needed to create creme brulee will help make your next batch a success.
Simply Recipes / Alison Conklin
Simply Recipes / Alison Conklin
What Is Creme Brulee?
Youll get a little crunchy topping and custard in each bite.
This is called tempering.
Simply Recipes / Alison Conklin
If youve done it correctly, your combined cream and egg mixture will create a smooth liquid base.
Just go slowly, adding the hot cream gradually, and you’ll be fine.
Once all the cream has been added, strain the mixture to remove any small egg particles.
Simply Recipes / Alison Conklin
It helps the custards to cook gently and evenly.
If theres too much sugar, the crust will start to burn before it melts evenly.
Too little, and it will just melt into the custard.
Simply Recipes / Alison Conklin
After whisking the cream and eggs together, your custard will have a little foam on top.
Skim the foam off the top of the custard after straining it but before pouring it into ramekins.
When Is Custard Done Baking?
Simply Recipes / Alison Conklin
I would avoid it.
You want your custard to be cold when served.
Culinary torches are really the best route.
Simply Recipes / Alison Conklin
They are easy to use, affordable and take up little space in your kitchen.
Its worth the investment.
The one I like is thisMicro Butane Torchfrom JB Chef.
Simply Recipes / Alison Conklin
Make Ahead Tips
Planners of the world: First, let me say you are my people.
I, however, cannot be trusted with a shallow dish in a water bath.
When I make creme brulee, I use taller 4-ounce ramekins, likethese.
Simply Recipes / Alison Conklin
Six of them fit perfectly in a 9x13 baking pan.
Tweaks and Substitutions
Creme brulee is flexible to your personal tastewithin reason.
If you like it sweeter, then add an extra tablespoon of sugar.
Simply Recipes / Alison Conklin
It’s fine to use all vanilla extract if you prefer.
If you want a lighter version, then by all means substitute half of the heavy cream with milk.
In other words, you could make small adjustments to make ityourfavorite dish.
Simply Recipes / Alison Conklin
My kitchen bookshelf has many dog-eared and tattered cookbooks, but this is one of the most loved.
A few of the tips I’m sharing in this post were learned through this brilliant book.
Table salt can sometimes give the delicate creme brulee a harsh or metallic flavor.
Simply Recipes / Alison Conklin
If table salt is all you have, reduce to 1/8 teaspoon.
Cook over medium heat, until it begins to simmer.
(If youre replacing the vanilla bean with vanilla extract, skip this step.)
Simply Recipes / Alison Conklin
When your cream is almost done infusing, separate your eggs.
Place the yolks in a medium-sized mixing bowl; save the whites for another purpose.
Whisk the remaining 6 tablespoons of sugar into the yolks.
Simply Recipes / Alison Conklin
And you don’t want eggy lumps in your custard!)
Do this two or three more times.
While whisking, slowly add the remaining cream to the egg mixture, followed by the vanilla extract.
At this point, the custard can be cooled and stored for up to 5 days.
Bring a kettle or pot of water to a boil.
Avoid splashing water into the custards.
Transfer the pan with the custards to the oven and bake for 38 to 40 minutes.
If the sides hold firm but the center sloshes, they arent quite done yet.
If they are set like Jell-O, theyve overbaked, although they will still be delicious!
Chill them, brulee them, eat them, love them and celebrate your efforts.
Remove the baking dish with the finished custards from the oven and set on a wire cooling rack.
This should take about 15 minutes, depending on how tender your fingers are.
(Mine are like asbestos, so I tend to go in rather quickly.)
Chill for at least 4 hours, or up to 4 days, before serving.
When ready to serve, remove the custards from fridge.
Sprinkle the surface of each custard evenly with about 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar.
Rotate the custard as you sprinkle to double-check the sugar evenly coats the surface.
Hold the flame about 4 inches from the surface of the sugar.
Using a circular motion, move the flame across the surface.
Sprinkle each of the custards with an additional teaspoon of sugar and brulee the surface again.
Cool for at 2 minutes, and serve within 20 minutes.
You’ll get less of a hard “crack!”
when breaking up the surface of the creme brulee, but it will still be good.
Be sure to get both the brittle topping and the creamy custard in each bite.
