Perfect Crème Brulee
everyone's favourite
Ingredients
- 16.9 oz Heavy cream (2 US cups)
- 4.2 oz Whole milk (1/2 US cup)
- 1 pod Vanilla beans
- 3.1 oz Granulated sugar (1/2 US cup - 1 Tbsp)
- 3.5 oz Egg yolks (about 6 eggs)
- Some Granulated sugar (1 3/4 tsp for each 5-inch wide (12cm) ramekins)
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, add heavy cream, milk, vanilla beans (scrape off the seeds inside and add them to the pot with the empty pod), and about half of the sugar.
- Heat them at medium heat until it starts simmering gently. Keep a close eye on it to prevent it from boiling out or evaporating too much.
- Remove from the heat, cover the top with a lid, and wait for about 10 minutes to infuse the vanilla flavor.
- In a large bowl, mix the yolks and the rest of the sugar. There is no need to whip them because you don't want bubbles - stop as soon as they are incorporated evenly.
- Add about 1/3 of the heated liquids to the egg yolk mixture and mix with a whisk gently until it looks even.
- Add the rest of the liquids as you mix.
- Mix it with a spatula at the end to ensure it's mixed evenly.
- Strain it with a fine sieve to discard any cooked egg and pour it into ramekins equally.
- One batch is enough for 4 - 5 6 oz ramekins with a 5-inch (12 cm) width.
- Place the sheet tray in the oven rack, lay a thin cloth or paper towels, and pour hot simmering water so that a little over 1/2 to 2/3 of the height of ramekins can dip in it.
- Carefully place ramekins onto it and bake at 300°F | 149°C until the filling jiggles slightly like a pudding or jello when adding vibrations. Adjust the time and temperature depending on the oven, thickness, amount, etc.
- Bake them for about 25 minutes with 5 ramekins, or about 30 minutes with 4 ramekins.
- Take them out carefully and cool them on a wire rack.
- Move them to the fridge to chill them for more than a few hours.
- Spread the sugar over the surface evenly and burn it with a torch to create a thin layer of caramel crunch. Wait for a few minutes until the caramel cools down. As an option, top it with fresh berries, mint, or any ingredient you desire and enjoy!
Notes
The custard filling
- Try not to mix sugar and yolk vigorously to prevent them from containing lots of air inside. The texture of creme brulee won't be so smooth when that happens. The same tip applies when adding liquids as well.
- If you see a lot of air bubbles on the surface of the filling after pouring it into ramekins, heat them for just a blink second with a kitchen torch to pop them.
- Be careful not to spill the hot simmering water on the filling in ramekins when placing them. It'll affect the consistency of the baked filling.
- You can also chill the baked creme brulee in the fridge overnight. In that case, wrap each ramekin after they cool down completely. The cream gets thickened slightly more compared to chilling it for a few hours although the difference is not significant.
The sugar caramelization
- Ensure that the filling is very cold before finishing it with caramelized on top. Cold filling tastes so much better than room temperature filling with the caramelized sugar crust.
- When you store ramekins with plastic wrap on top, check if there is no excess water attached to the surface and gently remove it with a kitchen towel if you see it.
- Do not add too much sugar on top to prevent the caramel crust from getting too thick since it doesn't feel very pleasant. Spread it thinly so it delicately breaks when hitting it with a spoon.
- After burning the sugar on top, do not let it sit for too long to prevent the caramel from starting to sweat.
- Start torching sugar from the sides of the ramekins and slowly move inward to burn sugar evenly a bit easier.
- Decrease the strength of the blowing strength if you find it difficult to caramelize evenly.