Maple Sugar Creme Brulee
Makes 6 Servings
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DRINK PAIRING | |
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| Sauternes or Vin Santo | ||
Creme brulee is a legendary dessert renowned for its rich, swoon-inducing creaminess. As long as you have ramekins and access to a torch, it’s suprisingly easy to make at home. This version has just enough maple flavor to stand up to the slight bitterness of the bruleed sugar.
INGREDIENTS
- 3 cups Heavy Cream
- 1 Bourbon Vanilla Bean (could substitute a Tahitian vanilla bean)
- 1/3rd cup Maple Sugar
- 6 Egg Yolks
- 6 Heat Proof Ramekins
- Baking Dish large enough to contain all ramekins
- Turbinado Sugar (could substitute plain granulated sugar, evaporated cane juice)
- Fresh Mint leaves for garnish
DIRECTIONS
1
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Ensure your ramekins are perfectly clean.
2
Pour the cream into a saucepan. Add the split & scraped vanilla bean (how to use a vanilla bean).
3
Scald the cream. Stirring occasionally, cook the cream just until it starts to steam.
4
While the cream is warming up, put the egg yolks in a bowl and whisk them together with the maple sugar. Add a pinch of salt.
5
Remove the vanilla pod from the cream and discard. Bring a pot of water to boil on the stove (enough to come halfway up the side of the ramekins in your baking dish).
6
Temper the cream into the eggs. While whisking constantly, very slowly pour the cream mixture (why you need to temper cream) into the eggs. Strain.
7
Ladle the custard base into the ramekins and put them in your baking dish.
8
Pour the boiling water into the dish, just enough to come halfway up the side of the ramekins. (Note: if you’re concerned about splashing water on yourself or into your custards, put the baking pan in the stove, then use a pitcher to pour the water in to the dish once it’s already in position).
9
Move the baking dish to the oven. Bake for about 20 minutes, until the custards jiggle when shaken (not unlike gelatin). They will continue to cook while they cool down, so you don’t want them to be 100% set.
10
Remove the ramekins from the water bath and let them cool completely. Move the custards to your refrigerator to chill (ideally overnight).
11
Just before serving, dab off any surface moisture on the custards & brulee them one at a time.
12
Coat the top with turbinado sugar.
13
Using a culinary torch, melt the sugar and caramelize it to your desired level. Then turn off the torch and immediately pick the ramekin up (by the bottom, be careful of the hot top) and angle it to spread the sugar around in a uniform layer. It may continue to caramelize slightly after the torch is off.
14
Garnish with a mint leaf. Serve.