Classic Creme Bruleé

If I could choose one fictional character to be friends with, it would definitely be Amelie. I mean really, she's got it all: Great hair? check. Lives in Paris? check. Ability to write menus backwards on café window? check. And, most important, a deep and abiding love for creme bruleé, specifically for cracking the top.

Cracking the top of a dish of creme bruleé is wonderful. Amelie was so right. I always thought that creme bruleé was one of those things that you only eat in restaurants. As if there was some magical secret to making it that only professional chefs were allowed to know. It turns out that creme bruleé is totally doable at home, and it's not even hard. Yes, it takes some time and effort, but it's pretty straightforward and the results are amazing.

The things that make creme bruleé intimidating are in fact like monsters in the closet—not so scary once you flip on the light. The torch isn't really necessary (but is very fun), water baths are so not the big deal that they sound like, and ramekins are just cheap little dishes that can go in the oven. So stop your fretting and let's make some creme bruleé!

Classic Creme Bruleé
This recipe actually came out of the booklet that came with our kitchen torch. I figured I'd start with this one and then move on, but I haven't really felt the need. This recipe is simple (4 ingredients!) and the results are delicious.

2 c. heavy cream
4 T. sugar
5 large or medium egg yolks
1 t. vanilla
turbinado (or plain white) sugar to bruleé

Preheat over to 300 degrees. Get a medium-sized pot of water boiling.

In a saucepan, combine cream and 4 T. sugar over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until small bubbles appear around the edges. It shouldn't be boiling, or even simmering. It should just look like it's thinking about simmering. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a bowl, beat egg yolks and vanilla with a fork until smooth. A little bit at a time, pour hot cream mixture into egg yolks. Beat well with each addition. Don't go to fast at this part. If the cream is too hot or is added too quickly, the eggs with scramble themselves, which is really not what we're going for. Once the two mixtures are combined, divide it among 4 6-oz. ramekins.

Ok, it's water bath time. Place the ramekins in a baking pan. Place the pan in the middle rack of the oven. Very, very carefully, pour the boiling water into the bottom of the baking pan until the water level is about halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Cover the pan loosely with foil.

Bake until the custards are just set. About 30-40 minutes. When you wobble the pan, the custard should jiggle like soft-ish jello. Remove from over and chill for about 2 hours.

To bruleé the tops, sprinkle the turbinado (or white) sugar generously over the tops of the custards. Make sure the surface is evenly coated. At this point, you have two options.

1 ) While a kitchen torch is ideal, the bruleé-ing can be done under the broiler. Just be sure the oven is nice and hot before you put the custard in. Watch it closely and whip it out before it burns.

2) Now, if you've gone with the torch, congratulations: you will be playing with fire. Take it slow. Adjust the torch's strength as well as your distance from the surface. Move the torch in small circles until the sugar starts to melt and bubble. It takes a little bit of practice, but you'll figure it out pretty quick.

Once you've done the tops, pop the ramekins back in the fridge for a few minutes so they can cool. Next step: remove from fridge, crack the top with a spoon, and enjoy!