I was not a very mischievous child growing up. While in the kitchen cooking, you get to do three things that you were taught not to do: play with your food, play with knives, and play with fire. Today we will focus on the last one, playing with fire.
The finishing touch to a proper Creme Brûlée is the caramelized sugar that forms the crust. You can accomplish this in a couple of ways. You can place the desserts under the broiler to melt the sugar. My preferred method is to use a torch, thus playing with fire. I find the torch caramelizes the sugar quicker. Gather your ingredients and torches, and Let’s head to the kitchen!
Cafe au Lait Creme Brûlée
Cafe au Lait is a popular New Orleans drink. The coffee is so strong that it has to be cut with milk. The addition of the coffee beans gives you a great New Orleans treat.
3 tablespoons French roast whole coffee beans
1 1/4 cups whole milk
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
6 tablespoons sugar
11 egg yolks
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 teaspoons sugar in the raw
Heat the oven to 200 degrees. Place the coffee beans in a coffee grinder, pulse for two 1-second pulses (some beans may be whole, which is fine), and set aside.
Stir the milk, cream, and sugar together in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Turn the heat off, stir in the coffee beans, and let the mixture steep for 5 minutes.
Whisk the egg yolks and salt together in a large bowl. Vigorously whisk the steeped milk mixture into the egg yolks, then strain into a clean bowl. Place 6 4-ounce ramekins on a rimmed baking sheet and evenly divide the custard mixture between them. Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake until a dime-sized center portion of the custard gives a slight jiggle when the baking sheet is tapped, about 50 minutes to 1 hour. Let the custards cool at room temperature for 30 minutes, before covering each with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or up to 3 days.
Evenly sprinkle the top of each custard with one teaspoon of Sugar in the Raw and brown it using a hand-held blowtorch. Serve immediately after bruleéing.
White Chocolate Creme Brûlée
This is one of my most asked for desserts. I know someone who could eat this whole recipe for one dessert. If you want, you can use whatever chocolate you want.
4 ounces white chocolate (Chips or Chopped Bar)
4 large egg yolks, at room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Additional sugar for Bruléeing
Preheat oven to 300℉.
In medium bowl, whisk egg yolks with sugar until smooth. In a 2-quart saucepan over medium-high heat, bring heavy cream to a simmer. Add white chocolate to simmering heavy cream. Turn off heat and whisk until white chocolate is melted. Add white chocolate mixture to egg yolk mixture whisking continuously to prevent eggs from scrambling. Whisk until smooth. Add vanilla and whisk. Pour into 4 ramekins. Place cups in a 13″x9″ baking pan. add enough water so cups sit in 1″ to 1 1/2″ of water. Bake until set, about 45 minutes. Before serving, sprinkle additional sugar to top of brûlée. Broil for 4-5 minutes or until desired level of browness (if you have one, it is fun to use a small torch to melt the sugar.) This can be served warm, at room temperature, or refrigerate overnight.
While these recipes are easy, it gives the end of your meal a little flair. Your guest will think you spent hours making them. To really put on a show, do the Bruléeing in front of them. It’s something most haven’t seen before!
