Best Crème brûlée Recipe
What is creme brulee?
Creme brulee is creamy custard dessert with a caramelized sugar topping.About my recipe:
I've developed this recipe over several years and batches of creme brulee. I set out to test every variable in the most scientific way possible. Read about my methods and results. It pairs very well with New Glarus Belgian Red cherry beer.
Active Time: ~25 min total
Baking Time: ~66 min
Start to Finish: 2 Days
Ingredients:
| 6 | Large | egg yolks |
| .5 | Cup | sugar |
| 1 | Tbl | vanilla extract or 1 mexican vanilla bean |
| 1 | Pinch | salt |
| 2 | Cups | heavy cream |
Light brown or Turbinado sugar for brûlée.
Directions:
Separate the eggs into a large bowl.
Whisk eggs until just broken.
Add sugar, vanilla and salt to eggs.
Mix until uniformly blended.
Add cream and mix until incorporated.
Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Avoid over beating the eggs, but always over mix rather than under mix.
Fill a large kettle with water and set it to boil.
Move an oven rack to one notch below the middle.
Preheat the oven to 300° F degrees.
Pour batter through fine sieve into ramekins.
Place ramekins in a shallow bake-able container.
When kettle is boiling AND oven is at temperature: pour the boiling water into the container with the ramekins until the water height matches that of the custard.
Immediately cover with aluminum foil and place in oven.
Begin checking for doneness in about 40 minutes
Remove the ramekins from the water bath and place them on a wire rack to cool.
Once completely cooled, cover and place in the refrigerator over night.
The next day
*For best texture, use as large a container as possible.
*Make sure no water gets into the ramekins.
*The custard is done when mostly set everywhere but still jiggly in the middle.
**If the custard doesn't appear set after a long time, just take it out.
Remove the ramekins from the fridge.
Use a paper towel or other absorbent material to remove any condensation from the top of the creme.
Spread just enough light brown sugar on top to thinly coat the entire surface.
Set the oven to broil and move a rack to the highest position. Put the ramekins directly on the rack beneath the broiler. Rotate and check frequently until all the sugar has melted into a nice sheet.
Or, if you have a powerful kitchen torch: With a mini torch make spiraling circles over the top of the creme brulee, getting the torch as close as possible without burning the sugar. When the sugar has melted into a sheet it should be done.
*The ramekins may be placed in ice water during the brulee to keep the custard cold.
Place the ramekins back in the fridge for up to 45 minutes.
Forty-five minutes before serving
*This is done to cool the custard back down after the brulee.
**If the creme brulee is allowed to sit for more than 45min. the sugar on top will begin to dissolve into the custard.
Method
Each test was done one at a time to ensure that every variable could be isolated an analyzed. Speaking of analyzation, you might be wondering how I measured the "deliciousness" of each creme brulee. Well... what are friends for? In case you were worried, all the tests were double blind. That means that neither I(in the end) or my guests knew which creme brulee was which.I realize that my results are very very subjective which is why I plan to write a script so that you can try these tests and tell me what you think.
Results
How long can the finished ramekins sit in the fridge?How do I know when the custard is done?
What should I do if my creme brulee isn't set after a while?
What's the best type of sugar for the top?
Is there any way to brulee the top without a mini torch?
Where should I cool the custard when it gets out of the oven?
How long do I need to leave the batter in the fridge?
What's the best baking temperature?
Do I need to cover the water bath?
What type of vanilla bean is best?
- Does ramekin size matter?
- Not if you cook it accordingly.
Smaller ramekins don't produce nicer custard than larger ones or vice versa.
Here's an equation to relate baking time in minutes to volume of batter in tablespoons given an oven temperature of 300° F. and a water bath volume of nine cups. ~Time = 34.1(x^.3) - Does ramekin shape matter?
- Yes. Ramekins that are roughly as tall as they are wide produce the nicest custard.
- Does ramekin material make a difference?
- No.
- How long can the finished ramekins sit in the fridge?
- About four days.
- How do I know when the custard is done?
- The edges are set but the center is still jiggly.
The internal temperature should be about 170° F
A knife inserted off center should come out clean. - What should I do if my creme brulee isn't set after a while?
- Take it out.
- How hot does the water in the water bath need to be.
- The hotter the better. Boiling if possible.
- How high should the water bath be?
- As high as the custard in the ramekins.
- Does the water bath size make a difference?
- Yes. The larger the better.
- What's the best type of sugar for the top?
- Light brown or turbinado.
- Is there any way to brulee the top without a mini torch?
- Yes, use the broiler. See step 4a.
- Where should I cool the custard when it gets out of the oven?
- On a wire cooling rack.
- How long do I need to leave the batter in the fridge?
- Overnight is best.
- What's the best baking temperature?
- Anything between 250 and 300° F
Anything below 250° F wont cook and anything about 300° F will scramble the eggs. - Do I need to cover the water bath?
- Yes.
- What's the best type of vanilla bean?
- Mexican
Tahitian was a close second and Bourbon was last but still better than extract.
