Creme Brulee

I love Creme Brulee. It is my second favorite dessert (after cheesecake, of course) and Brit surprised me with a kitchen torch for my birthday so that I could make it myself. We had been trying to plan this dessert for a few days and ultimately planned it so that we could eat it and celebrate the night after the research symposium I was coordinating was over. We also have been watching the British television series Skins with some friends and were able to share this dessert with all of them as well (conveniently kept us from gorging ourselves on it all ourselves).

Creme Brulee
(From Allrecipes.com)

Serves 6

6 egg yolks
6 tbsp white sugar, divided
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 tbsp brown sugar

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

Beat egg yolks, 4 tablespoons sugar and vanilla in a mixing bowl until thick and creamy. This might have been my second time in my life separating egg yolks from the egg whites. It was kinda fun, but I did accidentally break one of the yolks and had a difficult time collecting all of it. Using a hand mixer to mix the ingredients took approximately 1-2 minutes on a low setting.
Pour cream into a saucepan and stir over low heat until it almost comes to boil. Remove the cream from heat immediately. Stir cream into the egg yolk mixture; beat until combined, approximately 3-4 minutes on a low setting.

Pour cream mixture into the top of a double boiler. I made a double boiler but putting a glass bowl over a medium sized pot. Stir over simmering water until mixture lightly coats the back of a spoon; approximately 3 minutes. I don't know if my cream ever "lightly coated" the back of a spoon, so I kept it cooking for up to 5 minutes.

Remove mixture from heat immediately and pour into a shallow heat-proof dish. I used 6-3oz ramikins, which I had placed into a baking pan.
Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. I forgot to add water to the dish to help evenly cook the custard, but will definitely remember for the next time. Remove from oven and cool to room temperature. Refrigerate for 1 hour, or overnight.
In a small bowl combine remaining 2 tablespoons white sugar and brown sugar. Sift this mixture evenly over custard. Place just a thin layer of sugar over each custard and caramelize with a kitchen torch. Keep the torch flame at a distance and move back and forth to keep the sugar from burning. Serve immediately.


Amazing! I loved it and so did our friends. I can't believe I made creme brulee and am very excited to make this dessert again. Making the dish did require a few hours commitment, but it was well worth it.