Crème Brûlée
NOTE: Use light
whipping cream or equal parts light cream and heavy cream. This
recipe serves six.
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
6 large egg yolks, chilled
6 tablespoons granulated white sugar
11/2 cups light whipping cream, chilled
4 tablespoons dark brown sugar
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Adjust oven rack to center position and heat oven to 275 degrees. Butter six 1/2-cup ramekins or custard cups and set them aside in glass baking dish large enough to accommodate them easily.
2. Whisk yolks in medium bowl until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Add white sugar and whisk until dissolved, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in cream, then pour mixture into prepared ramekins.
3. Set baking dish on oven rack and pour warm water into baking dish to come halfway up sides of ramekins. Bake uncovered until custards are just barely set, about 45 minutes.
4. Remove baking pan from oven, leaving ramekins in hot water; cool to room temperature. Cover each ramekin with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, at least 2 hours. (Custards can be refrigerated overnight.)
5. While custards are cooling, spread brown sugar in small baking pan; set in turned-off but still warm oven until sugar dries, about 20 minutes. Transfer sugar to small zipper-lock plastic bag; seal bag and crush sugar fine with rolling pin (see figure 26). Store brown sugar in bag until ready to top custards.
6. About 45 minutes before serving, adjust oven rack to next-to-highest position and preheat broiler. Remove chilled ramekins from refrigerator, uncover, and evenly spread each with 2 teaspoons dried brown sugar. Set ramekins in baking pan. Broil, watching constantly and rotating pan for even caramelization, until toppings are brittle, 2 to 3 minutes.
7. Refrigerate crème brûlées to re-chill custard, about 30 minutes. Brown sugar topping will start to deteriorate in about 1 hour.
VARIATIONS:
Pumpkin Crème Brûlée
Combine 5 tablespoons canned pumpkin puree, 3 tablespoons white sugar, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1/4 teaspoon each ground cinnamon and ground ginger, and a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg in small saucepan set over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens slightly, about 5 minutes; cool to room temperature. Reduce white sugar in step 2 to 3 tablespoons. When sugar dissolves, whisk in cooled pumpkin mixture, then cream. Strain through fine-mesh sieve into measuring cup, pour custard into ramekins, and proceed with recipe, baking for 60 to 75 minutes.
Ginger Crème Brûlée
Combine 2 teaspoons ground ginger with sugar in step 2 and then whisk into yolks.