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Quick Notes: Let’s be honest. The best part of any Crème Brûlée recipe is that you get to use a torch. It’s also super easy and affordable. Make sure you prepare these far enough ahead to chill them in the fridge for about 4 hours before topping. This recipe comes from a combination of the recipe that came in the box with my kitchen torch, as well as some ideas I found on all recipes.
Ingredients
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup sugar + more for topping
- 1/4 tsp instant espresso powder (you can omit if necessary)
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat Oven to 350.
- Whisk together 1/4 cup sugar and egg yolks. Set aside.
- Start a kettle or another pan with some water on the stove. We're going to bring it just to a boil for a water bath, so you don't need a ton, but probably a couple of cups depending on the pan you use.
- In a small saucepan over medium-high heat combine cream, salt, and powdered espresso. Whisk, and keep a super watchful eye on it. At the first signs of bubbles take it immediately off the heat.
- We're going to temper the eggs. Please do not fuck this up. You'll know that you've fucked this up if your eggs scramble, so..... let's not do that. Take a small measuring cup of your hot cream and painfully slowly whisk it in a little at a time. Dump a little bit, whisk. Dump a bit more, and whisk. Whisk it fast. The idea here is to slowly raise the egg temperature to avoid cooking your eggs when we whisk the rest of the hot cream into them. You'll probably want to do this with at least a half-cup.
- Now, we can slowly whisk in the rest. You want to pour slowly and whisk quickly. Do this until the eggs are fully combined with the cream. If you have anything resembling scrambled eggs, you've made a mistake. Turn back. Start over.
- Put your ramekins (which is the super dumb name for the small ceramic dishes used for this dish) in any size baking dish large enough to accommodate your ramekins and a water bath. Pour your hot water in to fill the baking dish about halfway up your ramekins.
- Fill your ramekins pretty close to the top with your filling, depending on the size of them. Baking time can vary somewhat based on size or shape. Mine are about an inch tall so they bake super quick. The more shallow, the faster and more evenly they'll bake.
- Put your baking dish in the oven and bake for 30 minutes to start with. Pull them out and check them after that. If they are mostly set up you should be good to go. If not, toss them back in and check them every five minutes.
- Remove the ramekins from the baking dish without burning the holy hell out of your fingers. I use tongs. A spatula may also work. Allow them to cool on the counter long enough that you can pick them up with your fingers and put them in the fridge, where they should cool for about 4 hours.
- To serve, cover the top of your cream with sugar. It should be enough that it just covers all the cream. You don't want a thick pile. A tablespoon or so should do the trick.
- Torch the top of it to melt the sugar. Let it cool slightly, crack and eat.
This is a great Dessert to follow up our Caramelized Onion Farfalle with Balsamic Cream Sauce!
