Creme Brûlée
RECIPE
▪1200g/mL or 5c heavy cream "
▪1 fresh madagascar vanilla bean (sub 8g/2tsp vanilla extract)
▪160g or 3/4c+2Tbsp granulated sugar
▪2g or 1/2tsp salt
▪10 large eggs, whites and yolks separated
▪Sugar in the raw (about 30-40g or 3Tbsp per ramekin if using the 14oz ramekins)
Slice vanilla bean down 1 side then use a knife to scrape as much of the bean paste from inside the bean as possible.
Add heavy cream to a small sauce pot along with vanilla bean paste and the scraped vanilla bean. Stir and heat over medium until temperature reaches 150F/65C then remove from heat and allow liquid and vanilla to steep for 10 minutes.
Whisk together salt, sugar, and egg yolks. Add in about half of the seeped vanilla cream through a fine mesh strainer, whisking immediately to temper. Stir in second half of cream. Strain combined cream/egg sugar mixture through a fine mesh strainer, making sure to get all of the vanilla paste bits that may be stuck to the bowl.
Pour custard mix into ramekins:
about 12 oz into each of 4 14oz ramekins OR
6oz into each if using 8 7oz ramekins
Using a butane torch, lightly and quickly heat the top of the custard to pop any bubbles that formed from pouring the cream.
Wrap the top of each ramekin tightly with plastic wrap then pierce the top a couple of times with a sharp knife or cake tester. I place all ramekins on a rimmed baking sheet to make for easier loading into the oven.
Load into a preheated 215F/100-105C oven to bake for 2 hours or until just set. They should be just a little jiggly, but not liquidy. Internal temp should read around 170F/77C+.
Allow to cool at room temp for about 15 minutes before refrigerating to fully cool for at least 2 hours (preferably 8+).
When ready to serve, top each custard with a layer of sugar in the raw then use a butane torch to melt and brown the sugar on top. This takes about 3 minutes with my torch, but browning times will vary depending on the power of your torch. A more powerful torch is better to not soften the custard beneath the sugar.
If you don’t have a butane torch you can melt the sugar under your oven boiler set to high - keep an eye on this as sugar can burn quickly.
ALTERNATE BAKE TIMES: If using 8 of the smaller 7 oz ramekins, cook at 215F/100-105C for 1 hour 20 minutes If using a 9”x13” baking dish, cook at 215F/100-105C for 2 hours.