There’s no shortage of reasons why crème brûlée shows up on the menu of so many elegant restaurants. It’s both simple and complex: a rich, sweet custard with a silky texture that serves as the perfect foil to the crisp-crackly topping. It’s even more of a show-stopping dessert if you use a small propane torch to carmelize the sugar, as does the contributor of this recipe, the FAC’s technology manager, Christine Texiera. Playing with fire not an option for you? An oven broiler will also produce the desired effect. Traditionally, the custard is baked in an oven, but Christine uses an Instant Pot pressure cooker, which is much quicker.
Ingredients
8 oz heavy cream
8 oz half & half (or you can use all cream or all half & half)
1 vanilla bean split and scraped
1 tsp. vanilla extract
6 large egg yolks
1/4 c. sugar (plus more for carmelizing)
To make:
Boil a quart or two of water, if cooking in the oven.
Heat creams with vanilla bean until just about to boil.
Beat egg yolks and mix in sugar and vanilla.
Strain beans from cream mixture, then, stirring constantly, slowly add cream into egg mixture. Warning: Adding too much hot cream at once will cook the egg and make lumps. Start with ½ tbsp. at a time and continue to add cream in small amounts, very slowly.
Pour the mixture into ramekins.
If cooking in an oven: Place the ramekins into large cake pan or roasting pan. Add hot water to pan until it reaches halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake just until custard is set but still wiggly in the center, about 40 minutes.
If cooking in an Instant Pot pressure cooker: Cover ramekins with foil and put on steamer tray. Add one cup water to pot, then cook at high pressure with quick release for 9 minutes.
When custard is done cooking, chill for 2 hours or more.
Sprinkle sugar on the top, then brown and melt sugar under the broiler for about 2 minutes or with a small propane torch. Keep a close eye on it if you’re carmelizing the sugar with the broiler.
Wait a few minutes while the sugar hardens and cools before serving.
Crème brûlée prepared by Christine Texiera, photograph by Faye Wolfe.