Creme Brûlée
Ingredients
1litre Double Cream
7 Egg Yolks
6oz Caster Sugar
2 Cinnamon Sticks
1 Vanilla Bean
Extra Sugar to Brûlée
Instructions
In a large saucepan combine the cream with half the sugar (3oz) and the two cinnamon sticks. With the vanilla bean slice it in half lengthwise and scrap out the seeds with the knife and add them into the cream along with the two slices of bean.
Gently heat the cream to infuse the flavours, DO NOT BOIL, but it’s ok if you do, just catch it quick, it’s not the end of the world. Once it’s reached the right temperature it should have little bubbles around the edge of the saucepan or is too hot to put your finger in, shouldn’t take longer than ten minutes. Leave off the heat for around an hour, this will allow the cream to take on more of that cinnamon flavour.
Beat the egg yolks with the other half of the sugar (3oz) until it’s a pale yellow colour.
After the hour bring back up to a warm temperature not as hot as it was but still fairly warm. Strain it into a bowl removing the slices of vanilla bean and the cinnamon sticks. Add one ladle of the cream into the egg yolks and whisk together, add another ladle mixing as you go (this slowly brings the eggs up to temperature so you don’t end up with scrambled eggs).
Make a bain-marie. Do this by placing the ramekins in a roasting tin and fill the tin with boiling water until it’s about half up the side of the ramekins. Then pour the cream mix into ramekins but don’t fill all the way leave a little room at the top.
Carefully put the roasting tin in a preheated oven at 150° Celsius and cook for 40 minutes or until the edges are firm and the centre is jiggly. Leave to cool. Once cooled place in the fridge to set. They keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.
To brûlée your creme, sprinkle the top with more caster sugar moving it around to make sure you have an even layer that covers them creme enough that you can’t see it. Then with a blow torch caramelize the sugar until you have a rich caramel colour all over the top. Leave the caramel to cool and harden, shouldn’t take long.
Crack in & Enjoy.
