MTV boyfriend is a man of fairly simple tastes. Naturally he likes his meat and three veg. He loves a great piece of medium rare steak, scones with jam and cream, the Carte Dor brand of vanilla ice cream (after extensive testing he has pronounced it superior to all the gourmet brands) and... créme brulée. I am not sure where he developed his fancy tastes for créme brulée but he is certainly hooked and orders it in every restaurant he can. Being the good girlfriend I am I decided to learn to make créme brulée so that MTV boyfriend could indulge at home as well.
Blow torch in action
The first step in the process was to buy a blow torch. The Kitchen Craft Cook's Blowtorch
on Amazon is pretty cheap. You can caramelise the top of a créme brulée under a very hot grill but our grill is not that good and let's face it your own blow torch is so much more fun. Then I set about testing recipes. I had a few flops along the way where the créme brulée came out bearing more than a passing resemblance to custard, but finally (thanks in part to a cooking course in Paris) I nailed it. Let me present to you the ultimate créme brulée recipe.
on Amazon is pretty cheap. You can caramelise the top of a créme brulée under a very hot grill but our grill is not that good and let's face it your own blow torch is so much more fun. Then I set about testing recipes. I had a few flops along the way where the créme brulée came out bearing more than a passing resemblance to custard, but finally (thanks in part to a cooking course in Paris) I nailed it. Let me present to you the ultimate créme brulée recipe.
Ingredients
6 egg yolks (save the whites and use for meringues)
500ml cream
180g caster sugar
1 vanilla bean
The finished product, slightly overdid it on the blow torching on this one but still delicious
1. Preheat the oven to 110C.
2. Add cream and vanilla bean (split in half) to a pan and bring to the boil.
3. Whisk the egg yolks with 120g of the sugar.
4. Pour the boiling cream over the egg and sugar mixture gradually so that you temper the eggs and mix well.
5. Divide the mixture between six small ramekins or créme brulée moulds. Place these ramekins in an oven tray and fill it with water until the water reaches the halfway up the ramekins.
6. Cook for 50 mins or until the mixture is set but still quivers almost like jelly.
7. Cool outside for one hour then chill in the fridge for at least three hours.
8. Before serving sprinkle the top of the mixture with the remaining sugar so that it is evenly spread. Then pop under the grill to caramelise or whip out your blow torch.
Serves 6.
Links
If you liked reading this you might be interested in my post on the cooking course in Paris or a recipe for the perfect meal to have pre créme brulée, moules mariniere.
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