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Classic Creme Brulée

Omadarling
Classic Creme Brulée is a rich, creamy custard-like dessert with a layer of heated and hardened sugar on top. It is decadent, absolutely divine and a real show stopper!!
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Prep Time 15 minutes

Equipment

  • 4-6 ramekins (depending on size)
  • Hand held blow torch
  • fine mesh, metal strainer
  • 9x13 or 11x15 glass, baking dish

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 5 large egg yolks
  • 2 large whole, eggs
  • 1 large plump, soft and pliant vanilla bean
  • 4-6 tsp granulated sugar (to go on top after it is cooked)
  • 1 kettle of boiling water

Instructions
 

  • ****Detailed, step by step instructions are in the blog post, please refer to this if necessary****
  • Place the egg yolks and whole eggs into a large bowl and scramble them. Set aside, the cream is going to be poured into these shortly.
  • Pour your heavy cream into a sauce pan, then add 1/2 cup sugar to heavy cream and stir. Turn flame to medium.
  • Cut the vanilla bean down the center, lengthwise with the tip of your knife. Scrape out the vanilla beans seeds with the edge of your knife and place the vanilla bean seeds into the cream and stir to incorporate.
  • Cook the cream mixture 8-10 minutes on medium, stirring to infuse the vanilla bean and melt the sugar. Then crank the heat to high and DO NOT TOUCH IT. Let it get to a boil and let the bubbles come up to almost the top of the sauce pan and then immediately remove it from the heat.
  • Pour the hot cream into the bowl of eggs and whisk, whisk, whisk like a crazy person. Then whisk some more. You will be whisking about 5 minutes. During this whisking process, you are cooking the eggs and thickening the cream with the eggs at the same time.
  • Pour this mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl or pitcher, this is to catch any bits of egg. Don't push any liquid through, let it flow through via gravity and leave the chunks in the strainer.
  • Place a clean dish towel in a 9x13 or 11x15 glass baking dish, place empty ramekins on the towel. Pour the hot custard mixture into the ramekins until them are 2/3 full. Then pour boiling water into the baking dish until the water level is 1/2 way up the sides of the ramekins.
  • Place this in preheated oven set at 250 degrees for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes of cooking, jiggle the dish, if it is too liquid still, leave in for another 15 minutes and then recheck. You want to jiggle the dish and only the center is a little wobbly. It will set more as it cools.
  • Remove from oven, take ramekins out of water and leave on counter to cool to room temp. Refrigerate until you are ready to use them.
  • Just prior to serving, sprinkle approximately one rounded teaspoon of sugar all over the top of the custard. Light the blow torch and brown until the top is caramel colored, some areas may be a little darker and that is okay. Let cool 5 minutes, so sugar has time to cool and harden.
  • When eating, you will need to crack the sugar with your spoon to gain access to the silky, creamy center. That's it! Enjoy friends!!