Local Recipes

Easy crème brulee

Makes six medium ramekins (9cm)

Ingredients

7 large egg yolks

70g castor sugar

720ml liquid cream

1 scraped fresh vanilla pod (or 1 tsp good quality vanilla bean extract)

demerara sugar (or soft brown or caster sugar)

Method

Preheat oven to 110°C.

Whisk the egg yolks and caster sugar together till well combined in large bowl.

Heat the cream and vanilla in a medium saucepan over a medium heat. As soon as it begins to simmer, remove from the heat. Remove about ½ cup of the hot cream and, in a slow and steady stream, whisk into the egg yolks. Keep those egg yolks moving so they don’t scramble. In a slow and steady stream, pour and whisk the remaining cream into the egg yolk mixture. Place ramekins in a large baking pan. Pour custard evenly into ramekins, filling to just below the top. Carefully fill the pan with boiling water till half way up the ramekins. I like to place the baking pan in the oven and fill with the boiling water while in the oven as it’s safer. Place another tray the same size on top. (This is optional but it makes a softer finish on the brulee as it steams more than bakes).

Bake until the edges are set and centres are a little jiggly. The time depends on the depth of your ramekins. Begin checking at 20 minutes but they should be ready after around 30 minutes or when an instant thermometer registers 77°C.

Remove pan from the oven and remove ramekins from the pan. Place on a wire rack to cool for at least 1 hour. Place in the refrigerator, loosely covered, and chill for at least 4 hours and up to 2 days before topping.

Sprinkle a thin layer of demerara sugar all over the surface of the chilled custards. Caramelise the sugar with a kitchen torch and serve immediately.

Note: I prefer using demerara sugar to gratinate on the brulee as it goes really hard when caramelized and nutty in flavour. It is harder to melt so I use a spray bottle with water in to spray if the sugar starts to burn before it’s melted by giving it a light spray to cool it down.

Mark Lane | www.culinarylane.co.nz

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