As promised from my post yesterday that my next experiment would be on CREME BRULEE, I tried this super simple recipe from Genius Kitchen submitted by Gillian Spence.
Creme brulee is one of my favorite desserts and I have always wanted to make it. Creme meaning the cream custard underneath and brulee means burnt or caramelized sugar on top in this context, in French. Ever since my first try on creme brulee, I would try everytime I see a restaurant or cafe has it on the menu. One of the best that I have ever tried is durian creme brulee from Miss Ellie's Tea House which I introduced before on my blog. Before I decided to make this at home, of course I visited somewhere that sells it to try to make sure I can produce one as close by trying the texture and all to know what I am looking for. (Yeah, it is serious business you know! Learning from those professional chefs on Food Network, haha like Chef Ch'ng He Huang, Chef Martin Yang, Guy Fiery and Iron Chef Michael Symon etc, that's what they did before they go back to their kitchen to cook. I'm their fan!)
Because of not having a blowtorch at home to brulee the sugar on top for it to caramelize beautifully, I held back and was thinking one day I will get a blowtorch for it until I found this recipe (and some others) which do not require a blowtorch!!!
To emphasize again, the actual recipe is from Genius Kitchen. I'm trying to write it out in my own words with some modifications here and there which I applied to avoid plagiarism and our cheetah friend.
Ingredients:
- 400ml whipping cream (couldn't find heavy cream and the bakery supplies owner said this would do)
- 5 egg yolks
- 1/2 cup of castor sugar
- 1 tablespoon of Vanilla extract
Here's a video on an easy way to get the yolks from YouTube:
Basically, just mix all of the four ingredients together. Mix with a whisk or even a fork. I used a fork.
After they are all mixed thoroughly, sieve the mixture. This would ensure a smoother texture for the custard.
Preheat the oven for 10 minutes.
Place four ramicans into a baking pan. Fill warm water up to half of the ramicans level around the ramicans in the baking pan.
Bake/broil for 30 minutes at 250C. Check consistently after 30 minutes so the top of the custard doesn't get burnt. (Even if it does, it can be scooped off easily, so don't worry about that.) Stick in a toothpick to check if the custard is cooked. If there isn't sticky or slimy residue on it, then you are fine to go.
Let it set for 10 minutes after you take it out from the oven.
Spread castor sugar over the top of the custard. Then place it back into the water bath and back into the oven. Broil for one minute or so or until the sugar caramelizes to the yellow crisp you are looking for. Tadaaaaaa!
Without the advantage of a blowtorch, the four different ramicans might have gotten different heat, hence some are more caramelized and some not. Hmmmm.
I kept one in the fridge to chill and "recreate" the top layer again before we eat it today.
After the sugar top layer was bruleed
Here's some comparison to how my homemade creme brulee looks compared to the one I tried earlier in a restaurant because this is my first attempt, so I am trying to check how close I am to those on sale.
Photo on the left is the creme brulee from the restaurant, while the photo on the right is my homemade from my kitchen:
I even ran a poll on Instagram story about the look of it as it looked more like a Portuguese tart to me, than a creme brulee.
A creme brulee is never complete without the sensation of cracking the top of it, hence here's a GIF I made of my husband doing it. I was so nervous because it was like revealing the moment of truth.
The taste was awesome and I am satisfied with this midnight bake. I am very happy with the smooth texture (it has the 'boink-boink'ness I was looking for!) and the sweetness is just right for me. Both of us finished a small ramicans of creme brulee each. I love it and I am proud I tried to make it!
I'm guessing that without the blowtorch this is how my creme brulee would look like, very Portuguese-tart-look-alike. Haha but looking on the bright side, maybe I have 'accidentally' discovered I can actually make Portuguese tarts!!!! Oh YAYYYYYY!
