French: Crème Brûlée

Recipe by Paul Young <info@cooking-with-paul.com>

(serves 4)

Ingredients:

• Required equipment: 4 oven-proof 6-oz “ramekin” bowls (4-inch diameter)
• 2 cups half-and-half
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt
• 5 tablespoons granulated sugar, plus 8 tablespoons (for the topping)
• 8 large egg yolks

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 325ºF
2. In a bowl, combine half-and-half, salt, vanilla extract, and sugar
3. Microwave until warm (about 2 minutes), whisk until sugar is dissolved
4. Slowly whisk in egg yolks
5. Divide custard base evenly among the 4 bowls, filling them no higher than about ¼ inch from the top of the rim
6. Transfer the filled bowls to a deep baking dish (9x9 inches preferred)
7. Pour boiling water into baking dish until it comes to ⅔ of the way up the bowls
8. Bake until custards are just set (about 45 minutes)
9. Remove bowls from oven, transfer to a cooling rack, allow to cool for at least 15 minutes
10. Transfer bowls to freezer until tops are hard (no more than 30 minutes maximum)
11. Right before serving, top the surface of each custard with an even layer of sugar (about 1 tablespoon per bowl)
12. Working in a circular motion, use a butane blowtorch to pass a flame over the top of each crème brûlée until the sugar has caramelized and turned golden brown (or use the “hot spoon” method)
13. Cool slightly for 1 to 2 minutes, then serve immediately

Note: Custards can be made a day ahead and refrigerated overnight (instead of cooling them in a freezer for 30 minutes). Be sure to bring them back to room temperature (about 30 minutes) before torching them