French Vanilla Creme Brulee ... a piece of cake !!

Have you ever tried the French Creme Brulee in a French Restaurant ?
If you did, I bet your remember the crispy Caramel on the top with the cold and melted Vanilla Cream inside !

I still have in mind the "hhhhmmmmmm" I made the first time my dad made a Creme Brulee, a delicate taste of vanilla, with the crispy caramel on the top ...

Here is THE perfect recipe for the original Vanilla Creme Brulee ... and also THE Chocolate Creme Brulee if you are a chocolate lover !!

Although the ingredients are very simple (heavy cream, vanilla, sugar and egg yolks), there are some tips to make THE perfect Creme Brulee ... oooh la la !!

- First you need to have all your ingredients at room temperature (eggs and cream). Not to mention best quality of eggs, vanilla and cream give the best results ;-)

- Second the water in the pan needs to be very very hot (boiling) in the pan you will cook your Creme Brulee (see the recipe below)

- Third, the baking time is very very very VERY important : an undercooked creme brulee is to liquid # an overcooked creme brulee is to dry ... aie aie aie !!!

If you follow all the instructions in the recipe below ... you will get the perfection in your mouth :

Enjoy cooking et Bon Appetit !
http://www.emiliefrenchchef.com/

La recette de French Vanilla Creme Brulee

Ingredients for 6-8 persons:

• 1 ½ cup heavy cream

• 2 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract

•1/2 cup granulated sugar

•8 large egg yolks

•6 teaspoons of brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Place the cream and vanilla extract  into a medium saucepan set over medium-high heat and bring to a boil.  Remove from the heat and allow to sit for 5 minutes.  

In a the bowl of your food processor, whisk together 1/2 cup sugar and the egg yolks until well blended and it just starts to lighten in color. Add another teaspoon of vanilla extract if you like srong vanilla taste.  You can also add a teaspoonof dark Rhum.

Add the cream a little at a time, stirring continually on low speed. Pour the liquid into (7 to 8-ounce) ramekins. Place the ramekins into a large cake pan or roasting pan.

Pour enough hot water into the pan to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake just until the creme brulee is set, but still trembling in the center, approximately 40 to 45 minutes.  Do not overbake or your custard will be rubbery. So I recommend you to check in the oven after 40mn.

Remove the ramekins from the roasting pan and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.

NOTE : for chocolate crème brulee,  put only 1 teaspoon if vanilla extract and add 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips when your cream is hot. Whisk until the chocolate is well melted and pour the chocolate cream into the eggs following the same instructions above

Remove the creme brulee from the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes prior to browning the sugar on top. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon sugar at the top of each custard.

Using a torch, melt the sugar and form a crispy top. Allow the creme brulee to sit for at least 5 minutes before serving.

If you don't have a torch : Keep the cremes brulees in the fridge until the last minute.

Preheat broiler. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon sugar atop each custard. Place dishes on small baking sheet. Broil until sugar just starts to caramelize, rotating sheet for even browning, about 2 minutes.
Wait 5mn and serve !