Simple Pleasures: Creme Brulee

There's nothing I love more than dinner at a nice restaurant.  I always look forward to the dessert menu, because I love to make desserts and I'm always hoping to be inspired by something new and creative.  A lot of times though, regardless of how innovative the menu is, the dessert menu winds up being lackluster.  Cheesecake, Key Lime Pie, Bread Pudding, Chocolate Cake with Ice Cream.  Not that there is anything at all wrong with those, but I've had and made most of them.  If I'm going to splurge on dessert, then I want something I can't make myself.  The exception to this of course is Creme Brulee.  I will always order Creme Brulee if I see it on a dessert menu! It's about the greatest dessert on earth.  And surprisingly simple.  6 ingredients total for the entire dessert.  And you thought you had to wait until your next trip to a fine restaurant?  No way.  It's a little like my Chocolate Souffle recipe.  It only sounds fancy when in fact this is not a difficult recipe to make.  Creme Brulee is French for "burnt creme."  It's a custard base with a caramelized layer of sugar on top.  The best part about this dessert besides eating it, is it can be prepared well in advance.  In fact in requires chilling for several hours.  That means you can make these the day before you want to serve them and all you have to do is caramelize the sugar before taking them to the table.  I posted this recipe many years ago, but made this recently and wanted to share it again.  We had a big Arctic freeze here in Oklahoma, including a snow storm on Valentine's Day so we opted to stay home for dinner.  We went old school with Steaks, Grilled Shrimp, Twice Baked Potatoes and my favorite, elegant but easy never fail dessert.  What are you waiting for?  Let's get started.  If you hurry you can have one for breakfast.

                                                                               

Whether at a fine restaurant or a meal
at home this remains one of our
family's favorite desserts.

Combine cream and salt in a saucepan.

In a mixing bowl combine egg yolks and sugar.

Bring cream to a simmer but do not boil. 
When the little bubbles start to form around
the edges of the pan, it is just about to the simmering point.

Remove cream from heat and gradually
add egg yolk mixture.

Stir gently until sugar is dissolved.

Stir in vanilla.

Place ramekins on a jelly roll pan and place in oven. 
Pour hot water around the ramekins.
(The water bath, or bain marie method is used
to keep a crust from forming on the outside
of the custard before the interior is fully cooked.)

Cover loosely with foil and bake 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Look how perfect they came out.
See?  I told you it was easy!  Chill for several hours.

Sprinkle the surface of the chilled custard
with sugar.  You can use brown sugar,
raw sugar, but you'll get the best caramelization
with granulated or superfine sugar.
Of course I didn't follow my own advice and used
Sugar in the Raw. 

Caramelize the sugar with a culinary torch
(You can also use your oven's broiler, as described below)

 

                                                                                 

Last year for Father's Day, Mr. Devilish Dish got
a fancy new torch for searing things on the grill.
I wasn't sure if he was caramelizing sugar or welding.

                                                                                  

As you can see our sugar layer
wasn't perfect.  Use the right sugar
for the job for best results.

 

                                                                                  

The layer of sugar might not have been
perfect but the custard sure was. 
Look how decadent and smooth that is.

                                                                                

This is truly one of the most simple, yet
elegant desserts you can make.  I've been making
this for years, and we still enjoy it, even for
special occasions like Valentine's Day at home.

                   CREME BRULEE

3 cups heavy cream
dash of salt (I use Kosher)
6 egg yolks
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla or vanilla bean paste
6 tablespoons granulated or superfine sugar

In a medium saucepan combine cream and salt.  Cook over medium heat until cream begins to simmer but does not boil.  In a mixing bowl combine egg yolks with the 2/3 cup of sugar, stirring well until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is a pale yellow.  Remove the cream from the heat and gradually add the egg mixture whisking entire time to prevent the eggs from scrambling.  Make sure sugar is fully dissolved and stir in the vanilla. Fill 6 heatproof custard cups or ramekins (6-8 ounces each) with the mixture and place in a large roasting pan or sheet pan.  Pour hot water into the roasting pan until the water rises about halfway up the outsides of the ramekins.  Cover pan loosely with foil Bake in a 300 degree F oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes.  Remove ramekins from oven.  Allow to cool and then chill in the refrigerator several hours or overnight.  When ready to serve sprinkle 1 tablespoon of granulated or superfine sugar over the top of each custard.  You can brown the sugar under a very hot broiler for a couple of minutes, or for a more even caramelization use a culinary torch.  Serve immediately.  These are delicious as they are or can be garnished with fresh berries. 

Yields: 6 custards

*This recipe was originally published on March 6, 2011 I just felt like adding a few updates and sharing it again.

Coca-Cola Cupcakes Valentine I SODA Like You!

You know I'm a sucker for a corny Valentine Pun.  You could say they make me "POP" with joy, or I'm "all ears" for a corny Valentine Pun.  A Cheesy Valentine Pun?  They're pretty Gouda.  You get the idea.  If you actually search The Devilish Dish for Valentine recipes, you'll see past silliness like "Valentine You're Awesome Sauce"- Red Hot Applesauce,  or "I'm Bananas for You" Banana Muffins.  Last year I made Copycat Beaver Nuggets because "I'm EAGER to be your Valentine." I've been wanting to try a Coca Cola Cake for a long time.  Mr. Devilish Dish's Mamaw used to make it and it's such a popular Southern stand by.  A rich, chocolate-y cake made moist by the addition of real Coke.  Even better in cupcake form!  I used Soda for my pun, as in "Valentine I SODA Like You" which is funny because down here in Oklahoma we call everything Coke.  Whether you drink Pepsi, Dr. Pepper or 7UP, we call them all Cokes.  In fact we say, "I'm fixin' to go get a Coke" even if you order something else to drink.  I went with cupcakes instead of a regular cake because I've had my eye on these cute little cupcake carriers at the dollar store for a long time.  They're not super sturdy, so I wouldn't plan on using them for years like a family heirloom or anything but they hold 9 cupcakes perfectly for gift giving.  Remember Little Devil is grown, so we don't have to make classroom valentines anymore.  Our valentine gifts consist of treats for family and friends.  You could certainly package the cupcakes individually and give them as single gifts if you wanted to.  I just made three batches of cupcakes so there would be plenty to share.  The frosting is so thick and delicious they didn't need much decoration besides gummy cola bottles, but they would be adorable with sprinkles and garnished with a cute old-fashioned paper straw.  A nostalgic recipe with a nostalgic presentation.  You can also make this as a single cake in a traditional 9x13-inch cake pan as well.  It's perfect as is, or served with a big scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream.  It's like the most decadent Coke Float you'll ever have.  No matter how you decide to make this recipe, I'm sure I'll SODA like you anyway!

Coca-Cola Cupcakes for my Valentines
I SODA Like You!

A not too sweet chocolate cupcake,
made moist by the addition of Coke!

My cute little carriers from the dollar store

Shout out to Mr. Devilish Dish for making a run
for gummy cola bottles in the frigid weather.
(Last minute garnish decision)

I'm so happy with how these turned out.
I love nostalgic recipes and Coca-Cola decor.

Gummy Cola Bottles make the perfect garnish.
PLUS we ate the leftovers!

These would be so cute served with
old fashioned Coke in bottles
with a fun straw.
Go all out with the cheesy SODA theme.
It's Valentine's Day after all.

Here's my gift tags. I love how they
turned out.  I hope my Valentines
enjoy my love of bad food puns as
much as I do.

Click on the image to enlarge.
Right click and save to your computer.
Open with the software of your choice
and print onto cardstock.