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Family-Style Crème Brûlée

Source of Recipe

From "Smitten Kitchen Keepers" by Deb Perelman


Recipe Introduction

"This is crème brûlée for people who don't get enough crème brûlée in their lives—i.e., everyone, right?—but who don't want it to be a totally fussy-pants thing to make at home. I mean, who even owns a set of 6-ounce shallow ramekins that happen to fit inside another, larger dish for a water bath? Okay, hmm, well, I guess I do, but 1) I do not know where they are; please don't make me clean out the closet, and 2) I'm not normal. Instead, I drama-sized my crème brûlée, making it large enough for the whole family to dig into at once, but not so big that it requires special pans that few (normal) people have. I tried to keep the other parts as simple as possible. I use regular, everyday granulated sugar (which works best here, anyway). I don't use eight egg yolks, or even close. I tried very hard to get the maximum potential out of a single pint of heavy cream, so we didn't have to buy a second one just for, like, â…“ cup. Finally, I even found a trick for brûléeing the sugar for people who don't keep blowtorches around (or those of us, like me, who have one but probably shouldn't be trusted with it). I hope that this recipe makes what seems like a fancy restaurant dish doable at home."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise, or 1 teaspoon vanilla-bean paste and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
â—¦ â…“ cup granulated sugar, plus 2 tablespoons to finish
â—¦ 3 large egg yolks
â—¦ 1 large (whole) egg
â—¦ 1 tablespoon rum, Grand Marnier, or brandy (optional)
â—¦ 2 cups heavy cream
â—¦ Heaped ¼ teaspoon kosher salt


Recipe

Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Place a small dish towel or washcloth in the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch or larger baking dish; this will keep the custard from rattling around while it cooks. Place a 1-quart shallow baking dish on top of the towel. Bring a pot of water to a boil.

Make the custard: If using a fresh vanilla bean, rub the seeds into the â…“ cup granulated sugar to infuse it with the most possible flavor. Whisk the yolks, the whole egg, and â…“ cup sugar until very smooth and evenly combined. Add the vanilla paste, and vanilla extract and rum, if using, then slowly, slowly drizzle in the cream, whisking the whole time. For a perfect texture, pour through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl, ideally one with a spout.

Bake the custard: Pour the egg-and-cream mixture into the smaller baking dish placed on top of the towel. Carefully pour enough boiling water into the larger dish so that it reaches two-thirds of the height of your interior dish. Bake until the custard is just barely set and no longer jiggly in the center, about 35 to 45 minutes. The custard will be 170° to 175° F. Remove the custard from the water, and cool it on a rack to room temperature, 2 to 3 hours; then chill completely, covered, for 4 hours, overnight, or up to 4 days.

Shortly before serving: When you're ready to eat it, sprinkle the surface evenly with the remaining 2 tablespoons granulated sugar. Use a kitchen blowtorch (see alternate suggestion) to melt the sugar into a crispy bronzed top.

Return the crème brûlée to the fridge one more time, just to take away the warmth from the blowtorch (or broiler), which will take about 15 minutes. Don't leave it there too long, or the crunchy caramelized sugar on top will dissolve. We serve this family-style—i.e., we all dig in with our own spoons—and it's really fun. But you can also scoop it out into individual serving dishes, for more decorum.

Serves 4






� Note:
No blowtorch? If your oven has a broiler, heat it, and toast the sugar-sprinkled custard under the broiler for 5 to 10 minutes, rotating it frequently for even color. No broiler? This method is a little more tedious, but it works if you have a gas stove. Heat a metal spoon for a minute over your stove's burner (obviously, you'll be wearing a pot holder when you do this) and get it very, very hot. Gently press it against the surface sugar; the heat will melt it. Reheat the spoon as needed when it cools off and is no longer melting the sugar. You can also do a second thin layer of sugar if you didn't get the caramelized crust you wanted with the first one.