Coffee Creme Brulee

Ingredients

• 4 egg yolks
• 1 cup sugar, divided
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon instant coffee
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

In a medium-size bowl, beat egg yolks and 6 tablespoons sugar with a whisk for approximately 1 minute, or until smooth. Reserve.

In a second medium-size bowl, add coffee and 1/4 cup creme. Whisk thoroughly until smooth, then add remaining creme and whisk until well blended. Add coffee creme mixture and vanilla to egg yolks. Use a rubber spatula to gently fold together.

Use a ladle to pour mixture into individual ramekins, 3/4 of the way to the

top.

Place ramekins into a roasting pan. Transfer to oven. Before closing oven

door, pour water into pan (but not into the ramekins themselves!) until it

reaches 1/2 way up the side of the ramekins.

Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until when you shake the pan, the brulee giggles slightly. Remove from oven and leave out on counter, allowing the residual heat of the water to finish the cooking process.

When brulees have fully solidified and cooled down, sprinkle 1 1/2

tablespoons of sugar evenly overtop each individual portion. Under a watchful eye, use a small blowtorch to caramelize the sugar.

Alternatively, place ramekins 1-inch below oven broiler until sugar caramelizes.