Burnt Cream - It's better than it sounds!

Creme Brulee, literally translating into burnt cream is a very simple dessert, easy to prepare and it only requires a few ingredients. Creme brulee is basically a baked custard which is capped off with a layer of caramelised sugar, delicious!

A good creme brulee is defined  it's smooth consistent custard which is obtained over time after learning how hot your oven is and how to use it, but there some little tricks here and there  that you must take note of!

There are many flavours you can infuse the cream with, but I've found vanilla to be the timeless classic. 

You will need

• Baking tray or deep casserole dish
• Ramekins (total volume 500mL)
• Blowtorch

Ingredients

• 4 large egg yolks
• 500mL heavy cream
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup sugar (adjust to your liking) or approx. 100g
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract (or whole vanilla bean)

• 

Process

1. Preheat the oven to 160 degrees celcius
2. Separate 4 eggs to obtain the egg yolks
3. Put the egg yolks into a large bowl and lightly whisk the sugar in to the egg yolks
4. Pour 500mL of heavy cream with one teaspoon of vanilla extract into a small saucepan and heat on medium low. Stir to mix. Ocassionally stir gently until a very gentle boil, look for small bubbles forming on the edge of the saucepan. Immediately take the saucepan off the heat. 
5. While constantly whisking the egg sugar mixture, pour a splash of cream into the mixture. When the splash of cream is incorporated pour the next splash. Repeat until about 1/3 of the cream has been added in this way.
6. The rest of the cream can be poured in all at once. Whisk to combine until consistent.
7. Fill the casserolse dish/baking tray 1/3 of the way up with boiling water
8. Pour the mixture in the large bowl in to the ramekins and carefully place the ramekins into the water
9. Place the tray/dish inside the oven for 30 minutes
10. 
11. When done, remove from the oven and take the ramekins out of the water. Allow the ramekins to cool to room temperature
12. Wrap or cover the ramekins as they will be refrigerated for 3+ hours
13. Before serving, cover the surface of the custard with a fine layer of sugar. Wipe off any excess as this will burn.
14. Use the blowtorch to melt and caramelise the sugar. Some burnt sugar is perfectly fine, it provides a nice bitter contrast to the sweetness of the dessert. Enjoy!

Tips for perfection

• The first step tomaking any perfect baked goods is knowing your oven. If a dark brown or yellow 'skin' forms on the surface it means your oven is too hot.
• Baking time is crucial. It will take some time for you to learn how much the custard jiggles when shaken to indicate its doneness. Undercooked the custard won't hold its shape and won't give the deep creamy mouth feel. Overcooked the custard will be eggy and grainy, making the experience less satisfying.
• Air bubbles are your next greatest obstacle. They interfere with the cooking process and prevent the custard from setting smoothly. When whisking, try avoid bringing in too much air into the mixture. Also, allow the raw custard to rest and give the bubbles time to run out of the mix.
• Step 4. is where you can infuse your own flavours. Instead of vanilla you could try whole tea leaves. If you are using whole vanilla beans, split the bean in half and scrape out the seeds. The pod and seeds are both used, just remember to pass the mix through a sieve afterwards.