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Post by Newfygirl on Nov 17, 2006 15:14:31 GMT -5
Has anyone ever made this? I had it at a restaurant last week, and if I weren't at a restaurant I would have licked the little bowl clean...It was heavenly. I wondered if I could make it at home. Has anyone?
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Post by ben on Nov 17, 2006 17:33:15 GMT -5
Newfygirl, it's actually not hard to make! It's just a baked custard with a carmelized sugar top.
Carmelizing the sugar to get that lovely crispy top to crack with a spoon is the challenge... and the fun! You can buy a little torch that does the trick. Often, it also comes with the ramekins and a recipe.
I'm a creme brulee FIEND!! I've had all sorts of flavours- cinnamon is a favourite, chamomile was good, but a bit wierd. Green Tea may have been the best of all.
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Post by Newfygirl on Nov 18, 2006 12:09:29 GMT -5
It was the first time I'd ever had it and I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. That crispy top...ooooohhhh soooo good.
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Post by Mary Ann on Nov 18, 2006 19:34:39 GMT -5
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Post by ben on Nov 18, 2006 20:40:08 GMT -5
Oh, Mary Ann, it was lovely! So subtle, if you weren't told, you'd hardly even notice it was flavoured at all. It came as part of a mini-brulee trio: Green Tea, Cinnamon, and Coconut (ew. Coconut is the grossest thing ever). I had it in a restaurant called Sage in Ohio. The dinner was something of a disaster- my dad was sick, grumpy little kids... but! but! but! I got a date with our extremely cute waiter  Why do you think I remember it so well? |
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Post by Mary Ann on Nov 19, 2006 7:23:37 GMT -5
*Bwahahahaha!!!* Well leave it to you to find the positive in the day!  And I bet I'd like the coconut one. |
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Post by Trailpal on Nov 20, 2006 15:21:55 GMT -5
I ADORE creme brulee and it's pretty easy to make. My sis got me a creme brulee iron, it's an alternative to the torch. I have a gas stove and heat the iron there, be sure it's really hot if you decide to use an iron. I think a torch might easier but I've never had one. My iron came from "World Market" and cost $5. Here's a similar one:  I use regular custard cups instead of ramekins, but I don't know how those would work with a torch. The neatest thing is the hot sugar crust with the cold creaminess of the custard! Here's my recipe: Vanilla Creme Brulee2.5 Cups heavy cream .5 Cups whole milk 6 egg yolks .5 Cups granulated sugar 1 Vanilla Bean pinch of salt Extra granulated sugar for carmelizing. 1. Preheat oven to 325F 2. Combine milk, cream and vanilla bean in a 4 qt sauce pan and scald. Remove from heat and steep for 20 minutes. 3. Whisk sugar and yolks in a large metal bowl to combine. Stir in the milk mixture a little at a time. Pour this mixture through a fine strainer into a bowl. 4. Pour the mixture in to 6 oz (individual) ramekins and set them into a large oven proof pan that will hold water. Pour water into the pan half way up the sides of the ramekins. Put the pan into a preheated oven and bake for 35 mins or until the custard is just set. Let the custards cool and then refrigerate untill well chilled. 5. Sprinkle the top evenly with a thin layer of sugar and caramelize with a hot Creme Brulee Iron by heating hte iron over a gas flame or electric burner 5-10 minutes. Do not leave unattended. Press the hot iron lightly onto the surface of the sugar for a few seconds until evenly caremalized. Repeat for each ramekin. Reheat the iron after 3 have been completed. 6. To clean Creme Brulee Iron heat iron again to burn off any remaining sugar then cool before storing. |
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Post by Newfygirl on Nov 21, 2006 8:23:57 GMT -5
Oh yum. I think I might have to make the vanilla creme brule. No calories in that one, huh?! |
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Post by Mary Ann on Nov 21, 2006 8:44:03 GMT -5
When you break the crust on top, the calories vaporize straight up and out. Really. |
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Post by noblesseoblige on Nov 22, 2006 1:45:03 GMT -5
Ben are you sure your not my child given up for adoption??
I am an absolute Creme Brulee fanatic as well. I have made it many times.
It is very easy to make newfygirl. You need good quality ingredients (not artificial vanilla flavor f.i.) and a blow torch. They have them in all kitchen gadget stores.
BTW, I have put fresh (not frozen) Rasberries or Blueberries in mine. Crack the cramelized top and slurp down the creme with the fresh fruit, ohhhh, ahhh angels cavorting on my tongue again!
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Post by Newfygirl on Nov 26, 2006 12:17:41 GMT -5
Oh gosh - I wouldn't TOUCH the fake vanilla. I'm a bit of a snob that way - have to have real vanilla and real butter in my cooking. My theory - if you're going to make desert, make DESERT! Oh oh oh...fresh raspberries... (I'm all excited because I will have a garden this year and I've already planted my raspberry canes!)
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Post by Mary Ann on Nov 26, 2006 22:14:52 GMT -5
Oooh, what variety did you plant? Was it Heritage? Those are my favorite. |
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Post by Newfygirl on Nov 27, 2006 15:28:12 GMT -5
You know, I really don't know what kind they are! My Dad gave them to me from his garden. I also put in the blackberry and blueberry canes from his garden.
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