Ingredients
- 9 egg yolks
- 3/4 cup superfine white sugar plus 6 tablespoons
- 1 quart heavy cream
- 1 vanilla bean
Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. In a large bowl, cream together egg yolks and sugar with a whisk until the mixture is pale yellow and thick.
Pour cream into a medium saucepan over low heat. Using a paring knife, split the vanilla bean down the middle, scrape out the seeds and add them to saucepan. Bring cream to a brief simmer, do not boil or it will overflow. Remove from heat and temper the yolks by gradually whisking the hot vanilla cream into yolk and sugar mixture. Do not add hot cream too quickly or the eggs will cook.
Divide custard into 6 (6-ounce) ramekins, about 3/4 full. Place ramekins in a roasting pan and fill pan with enough water to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake until barely set around the edges, about 40 minutes. You may want to cover loosely with foil to prevent browning. Remove from oven and cool to room temperature. Transfer the ramekins to the refrigerator and chill for 2 hours. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of sugar on top of each chilled custard. Hold a kitchen torch 2 inches above surface to brown the sugar and form a crust. Garnish with cookies and fresh fruit. Serve at once.
Variation: Before dividing into ramekins: add 3 ounces of shaved dark chocolate for chocolate creme brulee; add 4 slices of crystallized ginger for ginger creme brulee; add 3 slices of orange peel for orange creme brulee. Let steep 20 minutes to infuse the flavor. Strain out the ginger and orange peel before baking.
Review This Recipe
You must be logged in to review this recipe.
or Sign Up to Review
Newest Ratings and Reviews
Read all 85 reviews
By bohemian81_12589950
Austin, TX
on December 27, 2012
Flag
Flag This Review?
Please provide the reason why you think this review is inappropriate.
or Cancel
This is virtually foolproof, but it definitely makes more than six servings. We only had "jumbo" sized eggs on hand, and because the yolks were so large it made ten ramekins. Even with large eggs, it easily makes eight. As it was the holidays, both grocery stores we went to were out of superfine sugar. I substituted regular granulated sugar, and it was not a problem at all. Because there was so much custard and I only had eight ramekins, I decided to pour the remainder into a cream pitcher and refrigerate it until some ramekins had been emptied. I made the two remaining custards the next day, and they, too turned out perfectly. The only other change I made to the recipe is that when the cream was off the heat I added two tablespoons of Tuaca liqueur. It was an easy, delicious, and impressive dessert--better even than the brulee we've bought at an upscale bakery in town.
By crankygirl3_5727716
Brooks, GA
on September 13, 2012
Flag
Flag This Review?
Please provide the reason why you think this review is inappropriate.
or Cancel
This recipe was easy, and like dying and going to heaven! The only thing I changed was I used a tablespoon of vanilla paste. I get it at Williams Sanoma. When my sister tried the brulee, the first thing she said was "Oh, you used a real vanilla bean in this". So the taste is unreal and a whole lot cheaper. Even has the vanilla seeds in it. TRY it, you will love it and ESPECIALLY this recipe. I am making it tonight with the orange zest and see if it can be any better.
By hotwife34
Bremerton Washi...
on April 15, 2012
Flag
Flag This Review?
Please provide the reason why you think this review is inappropriate.
or Cancel
I wound up mixing altons and this recipe and found a happy medium and oh man it was so good! The nice thing about creme brulee is that there are so many variations and you can tweek the recipe to suit your taste but for beginners i would reccomend following exactly then after making it a few times find out what you like. For my vanilla i split and steeped whole vanilla beans in the cream and also added bourbon vanilla to my egg mixture and i used 8 egg yolks and it was very rich and has got to be the very best ive ever tasted
Read all 85 reviews