Caramel Crème Brûlée

Serves eight.
This recipe is easy to make, but it takes a little planning and organization. Have your equipment ready and take note that crème brûlée needs to be chilled a few hours before serving. Fortunately, the custard can be prepared well in advance and stored in the refrigerator for up to three days. The sugar topping, however, must be torched just before serving. You can use any type of ovenproof dish, but I prefer wide shallow containers because they offer a larger surface to brûlée.

3 cups 35% cream
1/2 cup white sugar, plus extra sugar
for the brûlée topping
1/2 cup water
8 large free-range egg yolks
You will need:
8 small ramekins or shallow ovenproof
containers
Shallow, straight-sided saucepan or baking dish wide enough to hold the
ramekins
Small (1 to 2 quart) saucepan for the
cream
Deep 4-quart saucepan for the sugar
Fine-mesh strainer placed over a mixing
bowl that can hold 4 cups of liquid
Aluminum foil
Blowtorch for sugar topping

Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Pour the cream into a small saucepan and heat until it just begins to boil. Remove from the heat and set aside. In a deep saucepan, add the sugar to the water and mix well. Cook the sugar on medium-high heat until it melts and turns light amber, approximately 7 to 10 minutes. Once the sugar starts to change colour, you must be attentive and be ready to remove it immediately from the heat; beautiful amber can turn black and smoky in a heartbeat. This is not a time to multi-task: do not answer the phone! Slowly stir the warm cream into the hot caramelized sugar. Be careful—as soon as the cream hits the caramel, the mixture will rise and bubble madly. In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks. Add a small amount of the hot caramel cream and whisk until incorporated. Add the rest of the caramel cream in a slow stream, whisking until combined. Pour this mixture through the fine-mesh strainer placed over a bowl. (The mixture is strained to ensure a smooth custard. Sometimes the hot cream will cook traces of yolk, leaving your custard grainy.) Bring a kettle of water to a boil. Place the empty ramekins in the shallow, straight-sided saucepan or baking dish and pour the custard into the ramekins. Carefully pour the boiling water into the pan approximately half way up the ramekins, being careful not to pour water into the custard. Cover the pan with a sheet of aluminum foil and poke a few holes into the surface of foil to allow some of the steam to escape. Bake approximately 50 minutes, until the custards are barely set; the centres will jiggle slightly but will set further as they cool. If you use shallow containers, the baking time will be reduced to approximately 25 minutes. Refrigerate until completely cool, at least three hours. Just before serving, generously dust each ramekin with white sugar. Tilt the ramekin from side to side to disperse the sugar. Using your blowtorch, carefully torch the sugar with the flame until the custards are evenly browned.

Source:Caramel Crème Brûlée

Caramel Crème Brûlée