Crème Brûlée, Without the Drama
Five ingredients and a water bath. The only difficult part is the sugar on top, and that is a matter of two thin layers rather than one thick one.
The custard is easy and forgiving as long as the oven is low and the dishes sit in water. The water bath is not optional; it is what keeps the edges from scrambling before the middle sets.
The top is where people go wrong. One heavy layer of sugar melts unevenly and burns in patches. Two thin ones, torched separately, give the glass sheet that cracks properly.
Ingredients
| Amount | Ingredient |
|---|---|
| 2 cups | heavy cream |
| 1 | vanilla pod, split, or 1 tsp vanilla paste |
| 5 | egg yolks |
| 1/3 cup | caster sugar, for the custard |
| — | caster sugar, for the tops |
Method
- Oven to 300°F / 150°C. Boil a kettle.
- Heat the cream with the vanilla until it just steams. Off the heat, leave it fifteen minutes to infuse.
- Whisk the yolks and sugar until pale. Pour the warm cream in slowly while whisking, or you will make sweet scrambled egg.
- Strain into a jug, then into four shallow dishes. Skim any foam — foam bakes into blisters.
- Sit the dishes in a roasting tin and pour boiling water around them to halfway up. Bake 35 to 45 minutes, until set at the edge and still wobbling in the centre.
- Cool, then chill at least four hours.
- To finish: a thin even layer of sugar, torch until amber, let it set, then a second thin layer and torch again.
Notes
- Shallow dishes cook evenly. Deep ramekins take longer and set unevenly.
- No torch: the grill works if the dishes are very cold and go very close to the element. It is harder and the custard warms.
- Torch at the last minute. The crust softens within the hour.
Questions
It is grainy.
The oven was too hot or it went in too long. It should still wobble when it comes out; it firms in the fridge.
Can I make it dairy-free?
Coconut cream sets and tastes of coconut. That is a different and perfectly good dessert.