Creme Brulee

My husband's favorite dessert is Creme Brulee. So, instead of paying for it at a restaurant. I decided to learn how to make it! So far, this has been a fail proof recipe! I got my original recipe for this here. But with the ingredients I had on hand I had to tweak it a bit, this is what I have come up with that works for me:

Creme Brulee

Ingredients

• 1 quart heavy cream
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup sugar, divided
• 6 large egg yolks
•  hot water

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Place the cream, vanilla into a medium saucepan set over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat, cover and allow to sit for 15 minutes. (if you put this into the egg mixture when it's too hot, it will curdle the eggs)
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup sugar and the egg yolks until well blended and it just starts to lighten in color. 
4. Add the cream a little at a time, stirring continually. 
5. Pour the liquid into 6 (7 to 8-ounce) ramekins. 
6. Place the ramekins into a large cake pan or roasting pan. 
7. Pour enough hot water into the pan to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. 
8. Bake just until the creme brulee is set, but still trembling in the center, approximately 40 to 45 minutes. (I have found that it takes a bit longer in my oven- closer to 50 minutes).
9. Remove the ramekins from the roasting pan and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 3 days.
10. Remove the creme brulee from the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes prior to browning the sugar on top. Divide the remaining 1/2 cup sugar equally among the 6 dishes and spread evenly on top. 
11. Using a torch, melt the sugar and form a crispy top. Allow the creme brulee to sit for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Here's the pictorial-how-to:

Place the cream, vanilla into a medium saucepan set over
medium-high heat and bring to a boil.Remove from the heat, 
cover and allow to sit for 15 minutes. 

In a medium bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup sugar and the
egg yolks until well blended and it just starts to lighten in color.

Add the cream a little at a time, stirring continually.

Place the ramekins into a large cake pan or roasting pan.

Pour the liquid into 6 (7 to 8-ounce) ramekins.

Pour enough hot water into the pan to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins.

Divide the remaining 1/2 cup sugar equally among the
6 dishes and spread evenly on top.

We also like to use turbinado sugar on the top instead of white sugar

The torch we used (got it at Amazon)

Using a torch, melt the sugar and form a crispy top

(white sugar)

The turbinado sugar 

Yummy crunchy layer over smooooth and creamy! Yummy!

This is definitely one of our favorite desserts! :) Hope you try it!


Thanks,


Valerie

Places I party:

Celebrating Pi Day with a Chocolate Peanut Butter Layer Pie

Did you celebrate National Pi Day? We sure did, being married to an engineer sort of "demands" that we do! Besides, I sure enjoy a good "geek-out" now and then! So, I made up my mind to make a pie for dessert! :) But it sure was a messy adventure!


So, a few of you know that I keep up another blog (or two) and the details for how to make this pie, including the recipe can be found: http://lovinlowcarbrecipes.blogspot.com/2011/03/chocolate-peanut-butter-layer-pie.html at my Lovin' Low Carb: Recipes & More Blog.  (I know this way of eating is not for everyone, but it works for my husband and I, we lose weight, keep it off, and feel great!) So, this is a low carb version of this pie, I am SURE that if you wanted to use regular high carb ingredients, that it would turn out just as well! :) 


Here's the final product-- please don't laugh yourself silly over my lack of cake decorating skills... I definitely tried-- but I am sure a 2nd grader could have done as well! 

All pictures are borrowed from my Lovin' Low Carb blog

The biggest mess of them all though was the crust. I found what looked to be a great recipe for an almond flour crust, and I tried it out. I SHOULD have read the reviews/comments... but noooooo, I just plunged head-long into making this mess crust. 


The original recipe called for 1 1/4 cup of almond meal/flour and 2/3 cups coconut oil. I thought... hmmm, that seems like a lot, but I went for it. And it looked fine, I even patted it up the sides of the pie pan to make a "true" pie crust. Then about 5 minutes into the baking I took the following picture, and realized there might just be a problem:

Startin' to melt... um, this can't be good...

Apparently the amount of oil was too high, but I gave it another 5 minutes (just in case) and here was the result:

a bubbly, soupy mess...

A better perspective... it nearly bubbled over...

So, I mixed in more almond flour (about a cups worth) and was happier with the drier consistanacy and put it back in for another 15 minutes (thus the super dark edges-- but not burned, I do not burn things - I BROWN them!! LOL). Next time I am definitely going to cut back the oil to 1/4 cup (thinking that's about right since my crust was still a bit "soft" once it had come back to room temperature).


The end result was definitely yummy, and definitely worth it, but I sure learned a few lessons!! :)

A profile picture... besides the too thick crust, it was great! :)

This mess was brought to you by, 


Valerie


Linked up at these parties:
Tatertots and Jello Weekend Wrap Up