CAUTION: This creamy, rich dessert is dangerously easy to make. Avoid eating every day. If you can’t stop, see your doctor. Classic Creme Brulee is a lot easier than most people think. Planning ahead makes all the difference but the ingredients and method couldn’t be more straight forward. Perfect for Valentine’s Day or any special, romantic occasion.
Ingredients for Creme Brulee:
6 egg yolks
1/4 cup white granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch salt
additional sugar for caramelizing tops
NOTES: Makes 4 servings using 5 ounce ramikens. When making the water bath, stay close to the oven to avoid walking across the kitchen and spilling water onto your floor, or worse, into your custards. If you do not have a kitchen torch, you can use your oven broiler, though I have not had good results with this method, my sister swears by the broiler!
Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 300 (F).
2) In a bowl whisk egg yolks vigorously.
3) Add sugar. And seriously, whisk! Whisking gets the sugar crystals to break down the egg for maximum creaminess. Add vanilla and continue whisking vigorously. Get it all out. Because now it’s time to be gentle.
4) Add heavy cream to egg mixture all at once. Gently stir until ingredients are combined.
5) Add salt and continue gently stirring. Combine the ingredients thoroughly while minimizing the amount of bubbles in the mixture.
6) Make a water bath with 4, 5 ounce ramekins. Add medium-hot (not boiling) water to a baking dish and fill until water is halfway up the sides of the ramekins. This is called a bain-marie.
7) Pour mixture through a strainer. Either strain mixture directly into ramekins, or strain into a bowl and then pour into ramekins.
8) Bake custards at 300 (F) for 50 minutes. The center will not be completely set, but the edges will. Carefully remove from the oven.
9) Allow to cool in water bath until you are able to remove them with your hands.
10) Allow to cool.
11) Cover with plastic wrap.
12) Refrigerate overnight for best results (or at least 2 hours).
13) After the custards are chilled, dust the top of each with sugar over entire surface as evenly as possible. About one teaspoon per ramekin.
14) Follow the directions for your butane kitchen torch and turn on continuous stream. Be careful.
15) In small, circular motions, torch sugar so that it melts gently without darkening too quickly (or catching fire!). If the sugar darkens too quickly, hold the torch further away. If the sugar isn’t darkening, hold the torch closer to the sugar.
The perfect top has a light to medium-dark amber color, depending on your preference. After caramelizing the tops, place in refrigerator to cool down for five minutes. Top with berries or enjoy as is!
Link to A Very Average Holiday Special video.
Link to A Very Average Holiday Special blog post.
Hi!
Love Creme Brulee but sorry impossible to follow your instructions to see a doctor because he thinks about this dessert exactly like me ;) the best part is play with torch! ….Incredible photos!!
Gera .:. sweetsfoods
***Thanks Gera!!! I know… I have trouble following my own advice! Creme Brulee is so tasty!! :) ***
Love the recipe!! Love the video!! I love the song too!! Having trouble downloading the song, please help me out!!! The links to Amazon and Itunes are having trouble!! Betty keep on rocking! I keep telling all my friends about you!! Thank you
Betty, did I mention I would be more than willing to pay money to have that Song on my ipod. I just tried so many different ways to search for it on Itunes and Amazon, no luck. Don’t worry I still love you and Average Homeboy. Happy Holidays to both of you. Thanks for all you do!!
Hey Scoobydoodt!
Happy Holidays! Thank you so much for sweet comments! Getting the song on your iPod is simple (and FREE) — you just need to subscribe to my iTunes Video Podcast. There is a link at the top-right corner of the website (“Betty on iTunes”), or you can click here (the link seems to work best when iTunes is already open):
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=183309259
Once you subscribe, you can get all the episodes on your ipod, including the Average Holiday Season Music Video :)
Cheers,
Betty
Hey Betty, I have downloaded the Video Verison of this song. What I was looking for was MP3 music verison only, no video. That way I could burn to Audio CD and play for family and friends. Forgot to tell you my wife has made over 5 batches of your Holiday Disco Cookies and taken to various holdiay party’s. Everyone has enjoyed it and we have spread the word about your site through your delicous cookies. Thanks again for your good tasting food. Love Ya!!
Happy New Year Scoobydoodt!
5 batches of Holiday Disco Cookies? How awesome! Thank you so much for spreading the word about my site!!
I can’t help you out on a download for of just the .mp3 now… let me see what I can do :)
Cheers,
Betty
Hi Betty,
I know this might sound like a bit of a strange question,but I was wondering if you could add meat to the brulee ( chicken ,beef)
as I was thinking of turning this dish into a starter?
Thanks for your help
Holly
Hi Betty.
I was wondering if you have a good baked cheesecake recipe?
Thanks
Rowena no bean
Hey Rowena!
Sorry for the delay… just got back from a tradeshow in Las Vegas :)
I want to do a baked cheesecake episode very soon… it’s not my recipe and I don’t have my hands on it *yet* but a good friend of mine makes the best cheesecake I’ve ever had. Coming soon!
Cheers,
Betty
OH MY GOSH, Betty Cheescake is my FAV! I can not wait for your recipe! XXXXXXX
Try a touch of Ceylon cinnamon in the mix! Juliet Mae spices grinds the best!
Betty, the creme brulee recipe looks fantastic. There’s just one thing I don’t understand. You started out baking the creme in round ramekins. Then you put them into the fridge for 24 hours … and the ramekins came out all elongated!!! What kind of a refrigerator do you have, woman? It changes dish shapes! :))))))))))))))))))
Thanks, Karl!
I hope you give the Creme Brulee a try :)
I think you are experiencing some kind of photographic-optical illusion… the remekins do look kinda round in the picture where they are sitting on a red towel. But I assure you, same elongated ramekins going into the fridge as coming out. No magical refrigerator here… it does have a water dispenser which is pretty cool though. :)
Cheers,
Betty
Can’t wait to get all the things I need to make this! Surely this is my favorite and I can’t find it as often as I would like to enjoy eating it so now I can. I can make it myself thanks to you! Happy Day of Atonement! Thank you and Thank God! Be Blessed!
Christina,
Thank you for the blessings…
Can’t wait to hear what you think of the Creme Brulee! It’s one of my faves too – and a lot easier to make than you’d think!
Cheers,
Betty