crème brûlée

I never thought that crème brûlée was very good. But when I found myself with a day off of work and four egg yolks to spare, I thought I would find a recipe to use them in. A simple google search led me to crème brûlée, so I thought I would give it a try! I knew the rest of my family would eat it even if I didn't like it.

As it turns out, my taste buds have changed! It is delicious. Beautifully carmelized sugar lies atop a sweet and creamy custard.

And, it is EASY. It only takes a few minutes to put together, with only five ingredients. The only issue is the cooling time, which makes people like Carl impatient! So plan ahead.

And since brûler = to burn, a blowtorch is necessary. However, I quickly realized that my mom nor my brother knew how to use it, and my dad was on a business trip. Without his blowtorch expertise, I decided to set them under the broiler to carmelize the sugar. I would recommend this option, as most people don't own a kitchen torch. This method worked, although not as beautifully as Ina's version. It also brings the whole custard to a warmer temperature, while it is meant to be cold. Yet it still tasted wonderful. Crème brûlée was the perfect Olympic-watching treat on that chilly Tuesday night.

Crème Brûlée

serves 5 to 6

1 extra-large egg

4 extra-large egg yolks

1/2 cup sugar, plus 1 Tbsp for each serving

3 cups heavy cream

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 Tbsp Grand Marnier

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the egg, egg yolks, and 1/2 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 Grand Marnier and pour into 6- to 8-ounce ramekins until almost full. 

Place the ramekins in a baking pan and carefully pour boiling water into the pan to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the custards are set when 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 kitchen blowtorch until the sugar carmelizes evenly. Allow to sit at room temperature for a minute until the carmelized sugar hardens.

Source: Ina Garten's Barefoot in Paris