CREME BRULEE

Creme Brulee in French means “burnt cream”. It’s a dessert consisting of a rich custard base and topped with a layer of hard caramel. The hard caramel is created by caramelizing sugar on top of the custard by placing it under a broiler or using a special culinary torch. The custard usually is flavored with just vanilla, but it can be enhanced with chocolate, liqueur or fruit. Creme brulee is usually served cold in individual ramekins.

Serves 5-6

INGREDIENTS

1 extra-large egg

4 extra-large egg yolks

½ cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon for each serving

3 cups heavy cream

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 tablespoon orange liqueur (recommend Grand Marnier)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees

PREPARATION

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the egg, egg yolks, and ½ cup of the sugar together on low speed until just combined. Meanwhile, scald the cream in a small saucepan until it’s very hot to the touch, but not boiled. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the cream to the eggs. Add the vanilla and orange liqueur and pour into 6-8 ounce ramekins until almost full.

Place the ramekins in a baking pan and carefully pour boiling water into the pan to come up halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the custards are set when they are gently shaken. Remove the custards from the water bath, cool to room temperature and refrigerate until firm.

To serve, spread 1 tablespoon of sugar evenly on the top of each ramekin and heat with a culinary torch until the sugar carmelizes evenly. Allow to sit at room temperature for a minute until the caramelized sugar hardens.

Serve topped with whipping cream, fresh raspberries and mint.

Source: Barefoot in Paris, 2004, Ina Garten.

Image: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en