Crème Brulee

If you know me, you’ll know that I love all things French. {I even have a pinboard dedicated to my love of French}. I took three years of French in High School. I loved it so much that I went on to study more in College. I actually have an Associates Degree in French. Can I speak it? Not wonderfully. Can I understand it? Better than I can speak it for sure. There just aren’t a lot of people who speak French in Idaho to practice with. But I do have fun teaching my kids a little bit. My dream is to one day learn French well enough that I can teach it professionally. It’s kind of a long shot, but a girl can dream, right?
I’ve never actually been to France. One day I’ll go for sure. Sometimes I pretend by making French food. The French really know how to eat! I learned how to make Crème Brulee because I had never eaten it and I wanted to see what it tasted like. I thought it was probably complicated to make, but decided it was worth a try. And let me tell you. It’s EASY to make and it tastes like heaven. It is soooooo good. I even invited some friends over for dinner once and served it and they were a little skeptical at first. But after trying it, couldn’t quit talking about how divine it tasted. It’s that good.

So, here’s how to make it.

To make 4 servings, you need:
2 cups of heavy cream
4 egg yolks
1/4 cup of sugar (plus 4 tablespoons before serving)
1/2 vanilla bean (OR 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract)

The secret to really good Crème Brulee is vanilla beans. If you don’t have any, crème brulee is still really good of you use a high quality vanilla extract. The only time I make it is when I get a Tropical Pack with my Bountiful Basket. Do you have Bountiful Baskets in your area? It’s a produce co-op and it’s awesome if you can sign up! Okay, back to the vanilla bean. The first time I got one, I honestly didn’t know what to do with it and eventually just threw in away. It still breaks my heart to this day that I would throw away a vanilla bean. They are wonderful! And they are really easy to prepare. You only need 1/2 of a bean for this. Once you have half, then carefully slice the half in half. Like this:

Then separate it and scrape the vanilla beans out with the dull side of the knife.

Don’t waste those shells! Add them to some sugar and let it sit in a covered container for a few weeks. Voila – Vanilla Sugar!

Back to the Crème Brulee. Measure out 2 cups of heavy cream. Then, add the vanilla beans.

Stir them in really well. Bring to a simmer over the stove. Watch it carefully. You don’t want it to boil. Once it’s simmering, remove from the heat and let the beans steep for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, since you’re waiting anyway….Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Then, mix the four egg yolks with 1/4 of sugar.

After the cream is done steeping, you can either strain the vanilla beans out, or leave them. I’ve done it both ways and I think it’s really a personal preference.

Now it’s time to temper the eggs. It’s really easy to do. It just sounds scary. It is important that you temper the eggs or the whole thing might curdle and the Crème Brulee won’t turn out right.  Add about 1/4 cup of the warm cream to the egg and sugar mixture and stir.

Keep adding the cream 1/4 cup at a time and stirring in between until it’s all mixed in. Tempering gradually raises the temperature of the eggs while lowering the temperature of the cream until they are both the same temperature.

Divide the cream and eggs into 4 ramekins.

And place the ramekins in a baking pan.

Put the pan in the oven and add boiling water to the baking pan about as high as the cream goes.

 Now loosely cover it with aluminum foil and bake it for anywhere between 40-60 minutes. You know it’s done if the custard is set around the edges and jiggles just a little bit in the middle. After about 40 minutes, I start checking every 5 minutes or so.

The coolest thing about this dessert is you can make it a day ahead. Perfect for company!

Once it’s finished, allow the Crème Brulee to cool on a wire rack. Keep it in the refrigerator until you’re ready to serve. Just before serving, add about 1 tablespoon of sugar to the top. I prefer brown sugar, but you can use white also. Caramelize the sugar either with a kitchen torch (which I don’t have) or under the broiler in the oven. I love doing it in the oven. It caramelizes the sugar so evenly!

Then, serve! You can top it with fresh fruit if you want. I like it plain so that I can enjoy the warm and creamy flavor in all it’s glory.

This is so good! I promise, if you’ve never tried Crème Brulee, you are missing out!

Crème Brulee
slightly adapted from Williams Sonoma

2 cups heavy cream
4 egg yolks
1/4 cup + 4 tablespoons of sugar
1/2 vanilla bean (or 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract)

1. Split the vanilla bean and scrape the seeds out. Mix with the heavy cream. Warm the cream until it simmer. Remove from the heat and allow the vanilla beans to steep for 15 minutes. If desired, after it’s done steeping, remove the vanilla beans
2. Meanwhile, mix the egg yolks and 1/4 cup of sugar together. Then, preheat the oven to 300 degrees
3. After the cream is done steeping and the vanilla beans are removed, slowly add it to the eggs about 1/4 cup at a time. This tempers the eggs and prevents the custard from curdling.
4. Divide the cream into 4 ramekins. Place the ramekins in a baking dish. Add boiling water to the baking dish around the ramekins. Add enough water to be even with the custard.
5. Cover loosely with aluminum foil and bake for 40-60 minutes. After 40 minutes, check every 5 minutes for doneness. The custard is done when the outside is set and the inside is only slightly jiggling.
6. After it’s done baking, transfer to a wire rack to cool. If not serving immediately, keep it in the refrigerator
7. When you’re ready to serve, add 1 tablespoon of sugar to the top of each custard. I prefer brown sugar, but either will work. Caramelize the sugar either under the oven broiler or with a kitchen torch.
8. Serve immediately. If desired, top with fresh berries.

 I’m linking this post up to these parties.