Tackling Creme Brulee...

Most people love a good creme brulee.  They are impressed by the presentation as well as the flavor, but what makes a good creme brulee exactly, and why can't some people seem to get the proper balance of egg to cream ratio?  I think creme brulee is just about one of my absolute favorite desserts in the whole wide world.  There are millions of recipes for it out there and it can be a bit overwhelming muddling your way through them all.  Once you find a recipe, how do you get it to turn out just right?  While I've had no formal training in the matter of cooking, I do consider myself to be a pretty good cook.  (so does my work as I'm the chef there!  lol!)  The very first time I tried making creme brulee, it was a complete and utter disaster!  I didn't heat the cream up properly, and the water bath was much too full.  It was runny and nasty!  So, as the saying goes, practice makes perfect!  I kept at it until I figured out the perfect way of making this tasty little dish.  Thanks to my talented mother who provided me with the recipe that I gently tweeked (yes, recipes are mostly just for inspiration, not set in stone!) I was able to produce a yummy and beautiful dessert.  I'll share my tips and recipe with you, however the secret to a really good creme brulee is in the vanilla you use!  Shhhh!  Don't tell anyone!  ;)  And as I said before, if it doesn't turn out the first couple of times, don't lose heart, just keep at it, and practice makes perfect!

Jen's Favorite Creme Brulee

5 egg yolks
1/2 C granulated sugar
1 pint heavy whipping cream (also known as 2 C)
1 Tbs Mexican vanilla*

Prep:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a heavy sauce pan, heat cream over medium heat until edges bubble and thin film is visible on the surface.  While the cream is heating, in a mixing bowl, whisk egg yolks and sugar together until light yellow in color (do not over mix... very important!!!).  In a slow steady stream add hot cream to egg mixture whisking lightly to fully incorporate the cream into the egg mixture. (This of course may require a second set of hands to help keep the cream from being dumped into the eggs.)  Once cream and eggs are mixed, stir in vanilla*.  Prepare a water bath.  (For those of you who've never heard or used a water bath, take a cake pan or pyrex casserole dish and add about 1/2" of water to the bottom of the dish.)  Ladle custard mix into ramekins (or for those of you who don't have ramekins, the small round glass pyrex bowls work too).  Carefully place the ramekins into the water bath.  Bake for 45 min or until set (may be longer or shorter depending on your oven and altitude).  Remove from water bath and immediately chill in the refrigerator for 3 hours.  (This can be made a day or two ahead of time.)  When custard is completely chilled, it should be set and not wiggle much to the touch.  Spread a thin layer of sugar on top of the custard all the way to the edges.  Sugar layer should not be too thin or it will burn the custard, and you want to make a nice carmelized top.  Using a kitchen torch, carmelize the sugar on top until golden brown and there are not any "sugary" spots left.  Chill.  (If you don't have a kitchen torch, you can use the broiler in your oven.  Make sure the top shelf is at the highest point so the sugar layer is as close to the burner as possible.  You will have to watch very closely so as to not burn the sugar or custard.  Immediately remove and chill for 30 min. minimum.)  Serve with fresh berries (personally I think raspberries are the best but really all berries taste amazing with this) and enjoy!  DON'T think about calories, it's dessert folks!  :)

*Just a quick side note on the vanilla.  In my opinion Mexican vanilla yeilds the best tasting creme brulees.  You can purchase it at most local mexican groceries or on line.  My absolute favorite mexican vanilla can only be purchased in Mexico, and is called Azteca, it has a yellow label with the chicen itza pyramid on it.  If anyone goes there, please get me more!  I'd be happy to pay you back for them, the vanilla is amazing!  You can get the Monin extract right on line and it's not very expensive.  In fact a large vanilla usually costs less than the large vanilla extract you can get at Costco or Sam's Club, and you get more.  Just search on line at google or whatever search engine you perfer for Mexican vanilla or Monin.