Hi, I am Eugenie. Today I am going to make Crème Brûlée. The base is French custard. It’s different from English custard. French custard is richer because it requires heavy crème and more egg yolks.

First I will make French custard. And then dust with sugar and burn it. That’s why it’s called Crème Brûlée, burnt cream.

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Crème Brûlée Recipe – Burnt Cream – French Custard

For 4 servings (four shallow dishes – the dish size details are given in the note)

Prep time: 25 min
Cooking time: 30-35 min

Ingredients

• 5 egg yolks
• ¼ cup granulated sugar (56 g)
• 1 ½ cups heavy cream (360 ml)
• ½ cup whole milk (120 ml)
• 1 vanilla bean, or 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

First, in a sauce pan, pour the cream and milk.

Then split vanilla bean with the tip of knife and scrape the pulp out of the bean. And add in the pulp and the bean in the pan. Over medium heat, bring it to a boil. Cover and sit for 10 minutes, or until the temperature of cream is down to 158 degrees F. (70 C.).

In a mixing bowl, separate the eggs. Then add sugar to egg yolks and whisk rigorously for 2 minutes. It should be pale yellow and fluffy like this.

And slowly strain the cream in a heat proof bowl. Then pour in the cream in the egg yolks stirring continually. Don’t forget to scrape out the seeds from the pan. With a whisk, stir until combined.

Now, arrange shallow heat-proof dishes in a baking tray. Give a final mix to the hot cream. With a ladle, fill in the custard.  Crème Brûlée should be served in shallow dishes like these, not a deep ramekin.* Pour boiling water into the baking tray to come halfway up the sides of dishes.

And put them in the oven and lay a parchment paper over the top of the tin. It will prevent excessive browning. Bake at 320 degrees F. (160 C) for 30 to 35 minutes, depending on the size of your dishes. They should be trembling like a jelly in the center.

Leave the dishes in the tray for 5 minutes, then transfer them on to wire rack and completely cool. Then reserve in the refrigerator for 2 hours, or overnight.

Now sprinkle extra sugar on top of custard generously. Then use a blow torch to melt the sugar and form a crispy top.

Voila, crème brulee!

When you crack through the caramel shell, you will find satin-velvet cream loaded with vanilla seeds. Caramel is hard and very sweet, custard is soft and sweet.  It’s a perfect match.

Bon appetit! Bye for now.

Note

The quantity of this recipe is about 1 2/3 cups (395 ml) custard. For four persons, use four dishes of 0.8 inch deep and 3.75 inches in diameter, 2 cm deep and 9.5 cm in diameter in metric system. Traditionally crème brûlée is served in a shallow dish. If you use deep ramekins, you will need to bake longer.