Creme brulee is a classic and simple dessert made from 4 ingredients. Cream, eggs and sugar with a touch of vanilla combine to make a baked custard. Set in the fridge then sprinkle with brown sugar and blast with a blow torch. it’s my absolute favourite and as we usually have a proliferation of eggs, uses quite a few. I used Burford Browns to make the creme brulee shown in the photograph. The yolks are so orange that the dish has an orange rather than yellow look. It’s still absolutely delicious.
Ingredients
- 4 egg yolks
- 600mls single cream
- 30g granulated sugar
- 5mls of vanilla extract (or use vanilla sugar)
Method
Put the oven on to 160 degrees centigrade to preheat. Dig out 6 ramekins or small ovenproof dishes and a large roasting tin that can hold all the dishes as the creme brulee needs to be baked in a bain marie. In a bowl, beat the sugar and eggs together then add the vanilla extract. Heat the cream to just below boiling point. Pour the cream into the egg mix and stir well. I then transfer the custard to a jug as it makes pouring into the ramekins much easier. Share the mixture among the 6 ramekins then pop them in the roasting tin.
Add some water to the tin just enough so it comes halfway up the side of the ramekins. Carefully transfer to the oven and bake for 25 minutes. After the time is up, remove them from the water bath, leave to cool and transfer to the fridge.
To serve, sprinkle with about a teaspoon full of brown sugar and blast with a blowtorch to caramelise. The traditional way of doing this was to place the ramekins under a very hot grill for the same effect. I’m happy not to have the sugar on top. Alternatively, you could make a liquid caramel and pour it on top to set. This created the classic crack that you should get when eating a creme brulee.
I’ve seen various versions of this dish with flavourings such as coffee or fruit so there is plenty of potential to vary the pudding if you fancy it.
If you liked this pudding, you might like to try an really easy rice budding: https://cookingwithfi.com/easy-rice-pudding/