Continuing on the Moroccan dinner party we had on the weekend, I made an inspired Crème Brulé and by inspired, I just mean I took some Moroccan flavours and put them into a tried and true Crème Brulé recipe. I found this recipe on line about 9 years ago and have long since lost the link. A guy wrote it, no idea his name but I really liked its simplicity and that you are virtually guaranteed a perfect Crème Brulé that will never taste like scrambled eggs!
Crème Brulé
Makes about 3 servings 2/3 cup each
Ingredients:
- 1 3/4 cups half and half
- 5 egg yolks
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoon Grand Marnier
- 1/2 tsp orange flavouring (you can use orange blossom water but I find it a little too perfumey)
- pinch of freshly grated cinnamon
- 1-2 tbsp of light brown sugar to ‘brulé’
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 275°F.
- Whisk the half and half, egg yolks, sugar and falvourings together in a bowl. Mix it all up until it gets nice and creamy.
- Pour this mixture into ramekins. My ramekins were about 2/3 of a cup each.
- Place the ramekins in a baking pan and fill the baking pan with hot water, about halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Place the pan with the ramekins in the oven for 30-45 minutes to an hour or so. You’ll know they’re done when you can stick a knife in one and it comes out clean. Remove the ramekins from the baking pan, set them on the counter, and let them cool. (The deeper your custard is the longer it will need to bake)
- Sprinkle a thin layer of the light brown sugar on the top of each. Make sure it’s a THIN layer, but also make sure it completely covers the custard. Now torch it!
I’ve never made crème brulée either – my mother did once and used the grill (broiler) to brown the top. I’ve been hinting at a little torch though for Christmas. Maybe the fat-man will come down my chimney with one for me! Been watching a Swedish cooking show recently and they seem to make crème brulée a lot though so it’s really made me want to try it. These ones look wonderful… love the addition of orange water (or flavouring) and grand marnier… yum!
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I bought myself a little torch a few years ago, after having to ask JT to brûlée my puddings with his massive plumbing torch (it frightened me too much and I couldn’t do it myself!) I never thought to do it with the broiler (grill) — great tip! Another tip I picked up from a TV chef is to dry out the sugar; he suggested to use light brown sugar and leave it spread on a cookie sheet all day to dry out.
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Crème Brulée is one of my all-time favourite desserts and what a recipe Eva…I love the Grand Marnier in here and the touch of orange. Your linen is so pretty and sets the dish aglow!
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Thanks Kelly, I ‘won’ it at Winners! Great finds and not too pricey. The recipe is too easy.
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I just told my wife Liz that I have never made creme brule before and her jaw just dropped. Guess I’m going to have to put my “skills” to the test with your recipe. 😉
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First time I ever made it, JT had his plumbing torch ready to brûlée! Now I have my own kitchen torch! It’s small but I can use it and I don’t need protective goggles to use it!!!!
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Maybe just a teeny bit of orange flower would work. What a great recipe and I haven’t made this dessert in years.
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I was thinking about that Greg, but it is so darn perfum-ie, I just can’t get into it. I have some rose water for a good price.
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I have a whole bottle of the rosewater that I bought for the gulab jamun/rasgullah experiment and then ended up not caring for cause it was too perfumey … 🙂
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I hear you, Maria. I’m not a huge fan of perfume-y in food either!
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I’ve made creme brulee with various success on the bruleeing step as I have no torch and no plans to get one at the risk of causing a kitchen fire. 😦 The first time I bruleed using the broiler I had beginner’s luck and it turned out perfect. Since then, they’ve varied between crunchy, unmelted sugar and burnt sugar. As a result, I usually do flan versions so I can see adding the Grand Marnier (one of my favourite liquers), orange zest and cinnamon to my custard base and enjoying this lovely dessert.
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Thanks Maria. A while ago we purchased some butane lighters (the long handled kind) from Costco. What was unusual about these burners is that they had a torch-like flame, it just shot out like crazy. I bet this type of lighter would work bruléeing. Alternatively, I bought myself a little torch because my husbands torch (that he uses for plumbing) is way too scary to use in the kitchen!
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I remember the first creme brule that made. I was so proud of that dessert! Yours, here, sounds wonderful. Love the orange flavors mixed with cinnamon.
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Oooooh, this sounds so good with the orange and cinnamon, I want some! I’m so impressed with the range and amount of cooking you did over the weekend for your Moroccan dinner party.
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Thanks Betsy, that’s kind of you to say. I usually have more courses but this dinner was a bit more time consuming so I stuck with the four.
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I love ramekin recipes. 🙂 They’re just so cute. I’ve never made a creme brule before, but you can bet I’ll be using this recipe when I do if it’s sure fire. 🙂
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Crème Brulé is one of my family’s favourite desserts, Kristy. It’s seem so fancy with the crisp sugar topping, but it’s really easy.
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I have never made creme brulee, but I love it — maybe it’s time to get out the torch this winter…
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This recipe is really no fail. Hope you try it, Sharyn.
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