Creme Brulee

Eddie, being the awesome friend that he is, realised that I was missing a pretty blue flame in my fairly well-stocked kitchen, and bought me a creme brulee set. (Truth be told, he might have had ulterior motives, seeing how he LOVES said dessert.)

So, being the appreciative friend that I am, I tried, for the first time, to make creme brulee. Found a recipe here. The most helpful part was the first comment, with all the tips.


Ingredients (makes 8 small servings)
8 egg yolks
4 tbs sugar (more if you like it sweeter)
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups whipping cream

sifted brown and granulated sugar to form crust


Method:
With the whisk attachment of an electric mixer, whisk together eggs, sugar and vanilla.
Heat cream until just almost boiled.
In a steady stream, whisk cream into egg mixture.
Strain into a small pitcher (I used my bodum coffee press) and let stand for a bit for the liquid to settle.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375F, middle rack.
In a 9x13 pyrex dish, arrange the ramekins to fit.
Create a water bath by filling the dish with hot water halfway up around the ramekins.
Skim off the foam of the custard liquid, and throw away.
Pour the liquid into the ramekins. Try to distribute evenly.
Bake for 15-30 minutes, until just set. They will jiggle slightly like pudding/gelatin.
Remove from oven and let sit in the warm water for 15 minutes, then cover and chill for 2 hours, up to 3 days.
When ready to serve, sprinkle with sugar and torch, being careful to brown, not burn, the sugar.


Comments:
There are lots of recipes that call for twice the amount of liquid. I actually had a bit of a calculation error, but it still worked out. I liked the math: 1 egg yolk to half tbs sugar to quarter-cup cream per serving, vanilla not withstanding.

I was very impatient, and didn't wait long enough for the liquid to settle, and so my first few creme brulees were very foamy. They had these concave skins after baking--very visually unappealing. AND, it caused me to unevenly distribute the liquid, such that my most perfect-looking custard, was not quite set. (Having the least amount of foam, it had the most liquid, and therefore would've needed more time to set.)

I wonder if hand-whisking would've sufficed. The amount of foam was incredible, and seemed rather wasteful.

No picture, as it was rather blurry.

It is a good idea to have a good layer of sugar to torch. If the sugar is sparse, it's more likely to burn, rather than melt and caramelize.


Verdict:
Good! Very smooth in texture.