Creme Brulee – creamy perfection
Delicious creme brulle
“O that’s gonna be an easy one.” I thought when going through the recipe for the creme brulee in Donna Hay’s book Modern Classics. Cream and eggs, what can go wrong right? Wrong! Ofcourse we have a Dutch saying that goes something like ‘Hoogmoed komt voor de val” and it precisely point out what I am just saying… Think something is easy and you might be unpleasantly surprised!
I made the – probably classic – mistake of overheating the eggs. The recipe was not very clear in the sense that it didn’t mention you had to be careful with how hot the mixture got and so I just put it on the stove and it bubbled happily away. I kept stirring but obviously heating it above 100 C with eggs is always tricky. I should have really paid more attention but ok, I guess it was a good learning experience! I still moved forward with baking the creme brulee and I strained it before putting in the oven, hoping it would smooth out the texture a bit. And it did for the most part. It did not taste too eggy and was actually still surprisingly good.
Creme brulee
Making a perfect burnt layer on top was also more difficult then I thought it would be but once I got the hang of it, it was easy to do with my little burner. We had the things for years but never really used it until now. Make sure you do not make my mistakes to overheat the cream and you will have a cracker dessert for Christmas! I think this dessert will be even better if you add a bit of flavor into the cream. Think lemon or maybe even a bit of cinnamon. The choices are endless!
Creme Brulee
Yield: 6
Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 20 mins
Total Time: 35 mins
Ingredients:
- 1l double cream
- 1 vanilla pod (split and seeds taken out)
- 8 eggyolks
- 110g sugar (fine sugar )
- 60g sugar (for making the sugar coating)
Directions:
| Preheat the oven to 150 C. Put cream and vanillabean in a small saucepan and leave to simmer on low fire for about 3 minutes. Set aside for 20 minutes. | |
| Whisk eggyolk and sugar together. Slowly pour the cream mixture on top and keep whisking. Put everything in the pan and reheat on low fire for about 6-8 minutes. This is where I am adding a note that you should not let the temperature get above 70 C here. Better is probably to reheat the mix au bain marie to be safe. Keep stirring until it is thick enough to coat a spoon. | |
| Remove the vanillabean and strain the mixture above 6 ramekins of 175 ml each. Put them in a baking tray and pour hot water half way up to the ramekins. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until they are set. Remove the ramekins from the baking tray and leave them to cool in the fridge for at least an hour. | |
| Put the ramekins on a baking tray, sprinkle with the extra sugar and leave for 2 minutes. Put icecubes around the ramekins and put them under a preheated gril and bake for 2-3 minutes until the sugar is melted and golden brown. You can also use a special creme brulee burner ofcourse. | |
Note
The key here is to not let the eggs become to hot or you will have some form of scrambled eggs instead of creme brulee!
Recipe from Donna Hay's Modern Classics
creme brulee
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One of my fave desserts and so easy to make. I think you should ask Santa for a torch.
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Simone (junglefrog) — December 18th, 2011 at 10:47
Thanks Peter! I do have one of those torches but using it requires some practice too!
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A divine classic! Thta is a great Xmas dessert because it is indulgent, but not too rich either.
Cheers,
rosa
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Simone (junglefrog) — December 18th, 2011 at 10:49
Yes that is the reason I tried it in the first place. It’s pre-preparable (which is handy during christmas time) and indeed not too heavy after a big meal!
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This looks great! Thanks!
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Simone (junglefrog) — December 18th, 2011 at 10:49
Thanks Soma!
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How I love a good crème brûlée! I wanted to ask you, though: with this method, is the crème hot or cold under the caramlized top layer? Restaurants often serve it cold, and my father always complained about that, and I confess I prefer it to be warmed through – but maybe he and I are just weird? I’ve never made crème brûlée, so I’m curious… At any rate, the pictures look beautiful!
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Simone (junglefrog) — December 18th, 2011 at 10:50
Thanks Valerie. I think traditionally it is served cold but with a warm caramel layer on top. I do see what you mean and I like mine a bit warmer too.
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Creme brulee is one of my top 10 favorite desserts. If I could eat it every day, I would, but then I’d probably die lol Yours look perfect! I remember a quote from Scott Conant that rings true. It was something like…The most simple preparations must be perfect in every aspect, from ingredients to execution, so in retrospect, the most simple dishes are actually the most difficult. There’s no covering up even the slightest error.
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Simone (junglefrog) — December 18th, 2011 at 10:52
Haha… I love it too but yes every day might be a bit stretching it. And Scott Conant was definitely true in that! I never looked at it that way, but it’s true. The simpler the dish, the easier it is to find/see the mistakes made!
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Creme brûlée is creamy perfection & now I am totally craving some
Lovely clicks!
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Simone (junglefrog) — December 18th, 2011 at 10:56
Thanks Marla!
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There is absolutely nothing as wonderful as a perfect creme brulee!
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Simone (junglefrog) — December 18th, 2011 at 10:56
True, if only my creme brulee was a little more perfect..:)
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Well, Simone, I am sitting here and giggling with your *oops* moments but then I had to admit that I have yet to find the courage to make a crème brulée! Okay, you have inspired because in the end yours are just beautiful and mouthwatering! Great job!
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Simone (junglefrog) — December 18th, 2011 at 10:57
I can’t believe you have never made a creme brulee Jamie! I’m sure you would nail it instantly… Probably a lot less of those oops moments..!
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Awweee..those Ramekins are just awesome..don’t know whether I should just keep staring the pictures or read one
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Simone (junglefrog) — December 18th, 2011 at 10:57
Thanks Sanjeeta! I would come on over and eat one!
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One of my all-time-favourite desserts too! I like it served just luke-warm (slightly above room temperature). Great photos too – and very festive ramekins.
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Simone (junglefrog) — December 18th, 2011 at 10:58
Thanks Mark. I was a bit worried those ramekins were too red actually but I couldn’t find any others!
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Be still my heart!
These look so good. And I haven’t had Crème Brulée in so long. And of course, you make it look even more decadent with your incredible, out of this world, photography skills. They look perfect. And you say you curdled the eggs? No way! You sure recovered nicely from that mistake. One could never tell. Not even in the close-up pictures. You’re good, Simone. Very good!
Oh, I want this so badly now. So badly.
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Creme brulee is one of my favourite indulgent desserts. It’s just so delicious and I love the contrast of the hard sugar on top and the smooth and creamy custard. Yum!!!
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There is nothing better than a fresh made creme brulee in a cold winter night while you are sitting in front of the fireplace. Who says that winter is not magical more over it is even totally charming.
Greets
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This looks wonderful, Simone, I want to get one of those torches asap! Creme Brulee is one of our family’s favorite desserts, but we only get it when we’re eating out.
I want to let you know I gave you an award today—check it out on my blog!
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This is gorgeous Simone. Life is crazy right now wrapping and prepping for Santa Claus!
Hope you and Tom are ready for a lovely Christmas. xx
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I had 5 different versions of standard creme brulee over my birthday week, it was amazing to see how they were so different from each other in terms of texture mostly and a little bit taste wise. For me the worst thing is when the sugar layer on top is too thick!
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Simone (junglefrog) — December 22nd, 2011 at 15:34
Ah yes I totally agree.. It needs to be thin and crispy but getting the perfect thickness is not easy!
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good job on the brulee.
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Simone, I love the sparklies in this picture. Happy Holidays to you and your husband and may we blog together for a long time.
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Simone (junglefrog) — December 29th, 2011 at 23:26
I hope so to Angela! Wishing you a happy holidays too!
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