Elena and I did this together. She has done them before so is a bit of a pro! They were really good; everyone thinks they are really complicated to cook but actually they are surprisingly easy. And some recipes will tell you that you need a blow-torch to caramelise the top but if you chuck it in at the top of the oven then that does the job. This recipe is based on one by Simon Rimmer.
Try it!
Try it!
Ingredients (makes two)
Method
Pour the cream and the vanilla extract into a pan and heat until it is warm and steaming slightly. Don't let it boil.
Meanwhile, break the egg yolks into a bowl and add the sugar. Beat until combined with a fork. Doesn't take long.
Pour a little of the cream onto the egg yolk and whisk. This is called 'tempering' (I think) and basically means that the egg shouldn't cook when you put the rest of the warm creme on it. Pour on the rest of the cream and beat with the fork.
Pour the mix into a pouring jug and then scrape and really big patches of bubbles off with a spoon. Pour the mix into two ramekins.
Fill a roasting tray/pyrex dish with enough boiling water to allow the water to come half way up the ramekins when you put them in. Cook for 20 mins at 150. Then sprinkle some soft brown sugar on top and pop as high in the oven as you can on the grill setting - it should caramelise (turning a golden brown). To tell you the truth I have found that different ovens behave differently at this stage - last year, Elena's did it in 2 mins, but this year it took 6 mins (checking every minute) to get the nice hard caramel top. So play it by ear.
Now let it cool (we fridged it for a few hours). Poke it gently and the top should be hard.
Boom. You just made a fab little Crème Brûlée.
- 280ml double cream
- 3 egg yolks
- 50g caster sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Some soft brown sugar for the topping
Method
Pour the cream and the vanilla extract into a pan and heat until it is warm and steaming slightly. Don't let it boil.
Meanwhile, break the egg yolks into a bowl and add the sugar. Beat until combined with a fork. Doesn't take long.
Pour a little of the cream onto the egg yolk and whisk. This is called 'tempering' (I think) and basically means that the egg shouldn't cook when you put the rest of the warm creme on it. Pour on the rest of the cream and beat with the fork.
Pour the mix into a pouring jug and then scrape and really big patches of bubbles off with a spoon. Pour the mix into two ramekins.
Fill a roasting tray/pyrex dish with enough boiling water to allow the water to come half way up the ramekins when you put them in. Cook for 20 mins at 150. Then sprinkle some soft brown sugar on top and pop as high in the oven as you can on the grill setting - it should caramelise (turning a golden brown). To tell you the truth I have found that different ovens behave differently at this stage - last year, Elena's did it in 2 mins, but this year it took 6 mins (checking every minute) to get the nice hard caramel top. So play it by ear.
Now let it cool (we fridged it for a few hours). Poke it gently and the top should be hard.
Boom. You just made a fab little Crème Brûlée.
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