One of the things I miss most about going out to eat — besides, you know, simply being with other human beings — is being able to order from a beautiful tray of desserts. My absolute favorite sweet treat is creme brulee and I miss it dearly because it's not something I'm able to easily whip up at home.
The creamy custard requires a practiced pastry chef's touch, patience ... oh, and a blow torch to perfect the caramelized top. Since I don't keep a blowtorch in my cupboard, I figured that I would have to wait until the stay-at-home order is lifted to once again enjoy my elegant dessert of choice. Right?
I was totally wrong.
Thanks to the glory of TikTok, this week I learned about a trending trick to making creme brulee at home with just a few ingredients and no special equipment. A user called @shefshaq posted the recipe and I was so baffled by its simplicity I knew I had to put it to the test.
Typically, creme brulee is made with about five or six ingredients. But this quick version requires just three: egg yolks, granulated white sugar and vanilla ice cream. OK, I admit that the last one is a bit of a cheat as it contains multiple ingredients — but it doesn't have to be any special brand of ice cream to work and I'm always excited to learn new shortcuts.
Following the video's instructions, I first melted a cup of vanilla ice cream in the microwave. Each serving (one ramekin) needs about a half cup of ice cream. Then I whisked in two egg yolks. Then I divided the mixture into the ramekins. I've got a family to feed, so I doubled this recipe to make four individual servings.
While I was whisking, I boiled some water in a kettle. Then I poured the hot water into a glass baking dish, about halfway to the top. This fancy-sounding trick is called bain-marie in French: It allows the delicate custard to cook evenly and basically just keeps the air in the oven moist so nothing gets too dry.
I put the ramekins directly into the water bath and baked them at 325 degrees for 50 minutes. Since everyone's oven is a little different, it's best to start checking the custard at about 40 minutes to see if it's reached a nice golden color.
After letting the dishes cool to room temperature, I covered each ramekin in plastic wrap and refrigerated them for about two hours.
Now for the topping, which I found to be the trickiest part of this recipe. On the stove-top, I caramelized my sugar over medium-low heat, stirring quickly until it became a liquid. This part needs careful attention as the flavor of burnt caramel will ruin any spoonful of creamy custard.
To note, do not add water (I did this on the first try and it became too gel-like to form a hard crust). Instead, wait about four to five minutes and the sugar will begin to melt. As soon as it does, give it a quick stir and then pour a layer, as evenly as possible, on the top of each custard-filled ramekin. It hardens almost immediately, so you can't really spread it.
The first one was a bit tricky to top, but I mastered getting the right amount of caramelized sugar on second one and had a beautifully golden crust that cracked with one hard whack of my spoon.
And the taste? I was thrilled to discover that it definitely rivaled creme brulee from any restaurant. The end result was a luscious, vanilla-flavored custard beneath a sweet and brittle sugar crust — a truly heavenly treat that's doable any day of the week.
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Erica Chayes Wida
Erica Chayes Wida is an award-winning journalist, food writer and recipe editor who helmed a local newspaper before joining TODAY's freelance team. A mother of two, she loves singing, collecting old vinyl and, of course, cooking. Erica is forever on a worldwide quest to find the best ham and cheese croissant and brainstorms best over a sauce pot of bubbling pasta sauce. Her work has been featured on BBC Travel, Saveur, Martha Stewart Living and PopSugar. Follow along onInstagram.
Baking crème brûlée in a water bath, also known as a “bain-marie” in French cuisine, is a gentle and precise cooking method that helps ensure the custard cooks evenly resulting in a creamy, and velvety custard with a perfect texture. The water bath helps prevent overcooking and promotes even heating.
The earliest known recipe of a dessert called crème brûlée appears in François Massialot's 1691 cookbook Cuisinier royal et bourgeois. The question of its origin has inspired debate within the modern gastronomical community. The recipe is then based on egg yolks and milk, with a pinch of flour.
Crème brûlée and crème caramel are two different types of custard desserts. Crème brûlée is made with a rich custard base that is topped with a layer of hard caramel.Crème caramel is made with a caramelized sugar syrup that is poured over a layer of custard.
Underbaking: Creme brulee is perfectly baked when it is set and firm around the edges but still has a wobble or jiggle in the middle when shaken [1]. If your creme brulee is not setting, it may be because you didn't bake it for long enough. Make sure to follow the recommended baking time and temperature in your recipe.
Plain old table sugar, with its small crystal size, melted evenly and caramelized well, forming a thin, shatteringly crisp layer on top of the custard. In short—perfect. For best results, make sure to apply your sugar in an even layer.
Crème brûlée is a slightly richer French vanilla custard made with heavy whipping cream baked in a water bath. Crema Catalana is a Spanish custard made with milk and flavored with citrus and cinnamon. Because Crema Catalana uses milk instead of heavy cream, it is lighter and more delicate than crème brûlée.
Crème brûlée is an easy dessert served in individual ramekins with a rich custard base made out of eggs, sugar, heavy cream and vanilla. The topping is made out of a thin layer of granulated sugar which is caramelized with a torch to create textually contrasting hard candy-like shell.
At first glance, it would appear to be the quintessential French dessert. After all its name is French for “burnt cream” but the true origins of crème brûlée are not straightforward. In fact, France, England, and Spain all have claimed to be the country of origin to the crème brûlée.
In Britain, at least, you're eating either Cambridge Burnt Cream, or Trinity Cream. Granted, the recipe was first published as 'crème brûlée' (burnt cream) in a cookbook by the famous Gallic chef François Massialot in 1691, yet by the second edition Massialot had changed the name to 'crème anglaise'.
Crème brûlée is a decadent dessert consisting of a sweetened egg custard topped with caramelized sugar. It is sometimes called “crema catalana”, “Trinity cream” or “burnt cream”. It is made from a rich custard base and topped with a layer of hard caramel.
A perfect crème brûlée is served warm at the top of the custard (nearest the torching) and cold at the bottom. You can eat crème brûlée the day you make them; however, be sure to chill the custards for at least three hours before caramelizing the sugar.
This is most likely due to underbaking. Creme Brulee is perfectly baked when it is set and firm around the edges but still has a wobble / jiggle in the middle when shaken.
A custard base that remains runny could mean that either more baking time is needed or your recipe did not use enough egg yolks to provide proper thickening.
What many may not be aware of, however, is that it also demands restraint — from overbeating. As MasterClass explains, beating the custard mixture requires only just enough vigor to "fully incorporate" its ingredients.
Cover custard completely with sugar: You want to cover the top of each custard completely with a thin layer of sugar, because any exposed custard will curdle when you torch it. The amount of sugar will depend on the width of your ramekins.
Undercooked: It's possible that you didn't bake it long enough. Crème brûlée should be set around the edges but still slightly wobbly in the center when you take it out. It will continue to set as it cools. Too much liquid: Make sure you're using the right proportion of cream to egg yolks.
Creme brulee tastes like a richer, creamier, silkier version of your favorite vanilla custard or pudding. However, the burnt sugar topping adds texture, crunch, and flavor. The burnt sugar topping tastes like bitter caramel hard candy.
Introduction: My name is Terence Hammes MD, I am a inexpensive, energetic, jolly, faithful, cheerful, proud, rich person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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