How to make your creme brulee? - She at Table
How to make a successful crème brûlée every time?
Let's start at the beginning: what is crème brûlée? It is a cooked cream, prepared with whole liquid cream, egg yolks, vanilla for the classic version, and sugar. The subtlety of this cream is mainly due to its cooking. It must be cooked enough so that it is no longer liquid, but if the cooking is too thorough the result will be too firm. What we don't want! In addition, the size of the ramekins – especially the height – also affects the cooking. Just like the temperature. In short, it is therefore necessary to adapt its preparation to its equipment but also its oven. If you don't succeed the first time, don't worry, the result will still be good. As for the crunchy caramel on top, it is essential! To succeed, nothing beats a good blowtorch.
Ingredients
Traditionally, we use cream, or a cream/milk mixture for the liquid part. On this side, we advise you to choose full cream or whole milk for maximum delicacy. Indeed, the cream is the main ingredient of the preparation, and it is its fat that gives all the gluttony to the dessert. If you want light, it is better to choose another recipe, otherwise you will be disappointed.
But cream alone, even cooked, does not give a crème brûlée, so you have to add egg yolks, which will "seize" the cream while cooking and give the final texture to the whole.
To flavor, we do not forget the vanilla – in the classic version – and sugar to transform the whole into a dessert (you can also make savory crème brûlée) but also to caramelize the top.
This is for the basics, but many variations exist. Coconut cream, matcha tea, chocolate, coffee, black sesame, pistachio, praline, rum, orange blossom, you can play on a lot of flavors when you prepare a crème brûlée. See what you like.
Preparation
Ultra-simple, just heat the liquid part (cream or cream + milk) before adding it to the egg yolks-sugar mixture. If you incorporate a flavor like vanilla, you just have to infuse its open pods in the heated liquid. Some preparations such as pistachio or praline paste will mix better with hot liquid than directly in paste, especially if it is a little firm.
When the preparation is ready, it can be poured into flat ramekins. Obviously, the best is to use special crème brûlée ramekins, not very high and wide. Why is this preferable? Already because the cooking will be faster – even if it is enough to adapt – but above all because the caramelization surface will be larger. And, we're not going to tell you, what we love about crème brûlée is above all the extreme indulgence of this crunchy caramel, and the contrast between it and the smoothness of the cream.
Cooking
Ah, cooking the crème brûlée. It's very simple, each cook has his own recipe and his own way of cooking crème brûlée. Long cooking at low temperature, or faster at high temperature, almost everything is possible. If this is your first and you do not really gauge the power of your oven, it is better to bet on a longer and progressive cooking. Thus, during cooking, you can check the texture to avoid overcooking.
How do you know when to stop cooking? Just swirl the ramekins briefly, if the cream jiggles slightly in the center but not around the edges, it's good. If it's not shaking at all, it's overcooked.
Caramel
Once the creams are cooked and have cooled sufficiently in the fridge, cover them evenly with white sugar, before delicately caramelizing the whole thing with a blowtorch. Be careful not to overheat the cream to keep it fresh.
If the standard cream is light in color, some preparations are darker, with chocolate for example, and it is sometimes more difficult to know when to stop the caramelization. The right test? The spoon. If the surface of the cream is hard when you tap with the back of a spoon, then the sugar has caramelized well and you can crack it all without shame!
For inspiration, here are 10 delicacies to prepare without delay.
Also read: “How to make a success of your caramel every time? »
