Easy Recipes from the Pot Rack – December 2021/January 2022

Easy Peasy with just 5 ingredients and you get to use a blowtorch! What could be better! Seriously though, we spend much of the holidays eating pie, pie and more pie. I’m not knocking pie… a good pie is like it’s own food group! But Crème brûlée is in a different category AND it’s super simple. Give it a go!

Ingredients:

  • 5 large egg yolks
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar, divided
  • 3 cups heavy cream
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Instructions:

  • Preheat oven to 325°F.
  • Whisk the egg yolks and 1/2 cup of sugar together. Set aside.
  • Heat the heavy cream and salt together in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
    As soon as it begins to simmer, remove from the heat. Stir in the vanilla extract.
  • Remove about 1/2 cup of warm heavy cream and in a slow and steady stream, whisk into the egg yolks. Keep whisking so the eggs don’t scramble.
  • Then in a slow and steady stream, pour and whisk the remaining egg yolk mixture into the warm heavy cream and combine until smooth.
  • Place 8 ramekins in a large baking pan with sides. Divide custard between each ramekin, filling to the top. Carefully fill the pan with enough hot water to go about halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Carefully transfer the pan to the pre-heated oven.
  • Bake until the edges are set and centers are a little jiggly. Usually about 35 minutes.  An instant read thermometer should register about 170 degrees when they are done.
  • Remove pan from the oven place ramekins on a wire rack to cool for about an hour. Place in the refrigerator, loosely covered, and chill for at least 4 hours and up to 2 days before serving.
  • Using the remaining granulated sugar, sprinkle a thin layer all over the surface of the chilled custards. Caramelize the sugar with a kitchen torch and serve immediately.
  • Beautiful served with a few fresh berries and a sprig of fresh mint.
  • Now take a bow… you deserve it!

Beyond the Recipe:

Crème brûlée, aka burned crème, has been around for many moons, and I couldn’t be happier. The earliest it appeared in a French cookbook was 1691. Some will argue its origins go back to the 14th century. You may also recall Thomas Jefferson was responsible for introducing this creamy confection to America after making a deal with a slave to travel to France with him for the express purpose of learning the art of French Cuisine. That’s a lot of history for such a basic recipe. In my case, I was introduced to my favorite dessert in 1979 when my family moved to New York City. The 80’s in NYC were all about two major dishes… Pasta Primavera and Crème brûlée. I’m not much of a Primavera fan but I will NEVER turn down a Crème brûlée. Stop by the shop if you need a blowtorch and some fuel. (That might be the funniest sentence to ever come out of my mouth!) The Pot Rack is open daily from 10:30am-5pm. See you soon!