Crème Brûlée 101
Crème Brûlée 101
A crème brûlée is a classic, fundamental french dessert to master, but learning about different ratios helps to guide you on the perfect texture.
If you want to learn more about the science of it, pre-order my new book, The Science of Baking (there is actually an even better crème brûlée recipe in there!)
Ingredients
Method
Pre-heat the oven to 165C/330F (150C/300F fan-assisted). Place a rack on the lower third of the oven.
Into a medium saucepan, add the cream, milk and beans scraped from a fresh vanilla pod. I am using as high fat cream here as possible (48%) but if yours is lower that is fine, the final crème brûlée will just be slightly lighter on the palette.
Place it on a medium heat and stir occasionally until it is steaming. You want to try and make sure the clumps of vanilla are dispersed.
To enhance the flavour, you can place a lid on the pan and let it infuse for 30 minutes (I am too lazy so skip right to the next step!)
Into a bowl add the eggs and sugar. For me the best combination is somewhere between 50/50 whole eggs and egg yolks and 100% egg yolks. For example, as the recipe needs 140g of eggs, I might do 100g yolks with 40g whole eggs, or 75g yolks & 65g whole eggs. The higher the ratio of egg yolks, the softer and more indulgent the set of the crème brûlée will be. Note - to weigh whole eggs, crack them into a bowl, whisk them to combine so there are no streaks of white, then weigh the required amount.
Whisk the sugar and eggs briefly to combine, about 20 seconds.
If you have infused your cream, pop it back on the heat so it is steaming again, then remove the vanilla pod, and slowly pour it over the egg mixture, while mixing with a spatula in small circles.
Place a sheet of clingfilm on the surface of the mixture, and then pull this off which should remove almost all the bubbles. Remove any remaining with a spoon.
Carefully pass the mixture through a sieve just to ensure there are no lumps of egg and into a tall measuring jug.
Place 3-4 ramekins (ideally 9-12cm/3.5-4.7" in diameter x 2.5-3.1 cm/1-1.25" deep) into a deep roasting tray. Depending on the size of your ramekin you should get 2-4 crème brûlées. With a 9cm ramekin I get 3, so scale the recipe up if you need more.
Place the tray into the oven, and pour the crème brûlée mixture to the top of each ramekin. If there are any remaining bubbles, hit them gently with a blow torch.
Fill the roasting tray with boiling water, so that it reaches halfway up the ramekins and close the oven door.
Bake them anywhere from 30-40 minutes. Note that a crème brûlée with egg yolks only will bake faster. You are looking for a slight jiggle in the centre when you gently shake them. You can check them by removing them from the roasting tray. If they need longer, pop them back in and continue to bake.
Once baked, remove them from the roasting tray and let them cool at room temperature for 30 minutes, then into the fridge for 3-6 hours (or overnight). If the mixture looks like it bubbled on the surface when you remove them from the oven don't panic, these will settle quickly.
When you are ready to serve, use a paper towel to pat off any moisture from the surface then add an even layer of sugar across the top. I like to tap the ramekins firmly to get rid of any excess sugar. In terms of the type of sugar, I use a coarse brown sugar, called Demerara, but white sugar works too. You can also use icing/powdered sugar sifted over the top for a very thin glass like caramel (although do a second layer after caramelising the first, as one layer is too thin!)
Let them tool for a few minutes so the caramel can harden and then serve.
Ingredients
Directions
Pre-heat the oven to 165C/330F (150C/300F fan-assisted). Place a rack on the lower third of the oven.
Into a medium saucepan, add the cream, milk and beans scraped from a fresh vanilla pod. I am using as high fat cream here as possible (48%) but if yours is lower that is fine, the final crème brûlée will just be slightly lighter on the palette.
Place it on a medium heat and stir occasionally until it is steaming. You want to try and make sure the clumps of vanilla are dispersed.
To enhance the flavour, you can place a lid on the pan and let it infuse for 30 minutes (I am too lazy so skip right to the next step!)
Into a bowl add the eggs and sugar. For me the best combination is somewhere between 50/50 whole eggs and egg yolks and 100% egg yolks. For example, as the recipe needs 140g of eggs, I might do 100g yolks with 40g whole eggs, or 75g yolks & 65g whole eggs. The higher the ratio of egg yolks, the softer and more indulgent the set of the crème brûlée will be. Note - to weigh whole eggs, crack them into a bowl, whisk them to combine so there are no streaks of white, then weigh the required amount.
Whisk the sugar and eggs briefly to combine, about 20 seconds.
If you have infused your cream, pop it back on the heat so it is steaming again, then remove the vanilla pod, and slowly pour it over the egg mixture, while mixing with a spatula in small circles.
Place a sheet of clingfilm on the surface of the mixture, and then pull this off which should remove almost all the bubbles. Remove any remaining with a spoon.
Carefully pass the mixture through a sieve just to ensure there are no lumps of egg and into a tall measuring jug.
Place 3-4 ramekins (ideally 9-12cm/3.5-4.7" in diameter x 2.5-3.1 cm/1-1.25" deep) into a deep roasting tray. Depending on the size of your ramekin you should get 2-4 crème brûlées. With a 9cm ramekin I get 3, so scale the recipe up if you need more.
Place the tray into the oven, and pour the crème brûlée mixture to the top of each ramekin. If there are any remaining bubbles, hit them gently with a blow torch.
Fill the roasting tray with boiling water, so that it reaches halfway up the ramekins and close the oven door.
Bake them anywhere from 30-40 minutes. Note that a crème brûlée with egg yolks only will bake faster. You are looking for a slight jiggle in the centre when you gently shake them. You can check them by removing them from the roasting tray. If they need longer, pop them back in and continue to bake.
Once baked, remove them from the roasting tray and let them cool at room temperature for 30 minutes, then into the fridge for 3-6 hours (or overnight). If the mixture looks like it bubbled on the surface when you remove them from the oven don't panic, these will settle quickly.
When you are ready to serve, use a paper towel to pat off any moisture from the surface then add an even layer of sugar across the top. I like to tap the ramekins firmly to get rid of any excess sugar. In terms of the type of sugar, I use a coarse brown sugar, called Demerara, but white sugar works too. You can also use icing/powdered sugar sifted over the top for a very thin glass like caramel (although do a second layer after caramelising the first, as one layer is too thin!)
Let them tool for a few minutes so the caramel can harden and then serve.
