For a long time creme brulee was the ultimate dessert for Ryan and I. Not alot of places serve it (the one's we've been to anyway) and when we did find a restaurant that did serve it, it wasn't always the greatest. This is the earliest photo I could find of a creme brulee which was home made. I had been trying to make creme brulees before this but for some reason mine would never turn out right. They always ended up being on the runny side, sometimes not even setting at all. Even after studying and trying different recipes I am still yet to perfect the creme brulee. Ryan on the other hand has the gift. The gift to be able to make a mean creme brulee! I can't even remember where he got his recipe(s) from as he's made it a few times with great success. I do remember there was one time he used the recipe out of one of my cookbooks, Tobie Puttock's - Daily Italian, and it was perfect.
What's so appealing about a creme brulee? The smooth velvety custard underneath covered by a thin crispy shell of sweet toffee. Two complete contrasting textures meshed together in your mouth. Every mouthful is just absolute bliss! Creme Brulee means Burnt Custard, we don't really burn the custard of course but when you "burn" the sugar which is sprinkled on top it makes the whole thing appear as if it's a little burnt. I can't remember the last time we've had creme brulee, it's been a while. The fact that our palettes have become alot more sophisticated we now appreciate a wider range of desserts and are always eager to try different things. You can't go wrong with a classic dessert though.
November 2009 - My latest attempt, the fact that I havn't even attempted this again since then just clearly shows that I have been defeated by the creme brulee. My blow torch had died (after I lent it to Ryan and then he went and bought himself a new one so I now have no blow torch) so it burnt a little when I tried doing the sugar under the grill. The heat from the grill also managed to slightly "melt" my custard =(. Ryan is quite proud that he's better than me at something (cooking related). It's quite cute so I think I might give up on the creme brulee and nag Ryan to make it again sometime. =D
If your Brulees aren't setting you aren't cooking it for long enough. There's always the fear of it splitting but you have to be brave and keep it cooking as long as possible. If it does split, then throw it all in a blender and use it as creme anglaise - it won't set up as a brulee now but it'll still taste pretty good.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tips Mike, for a while our oven wasn't functioning well either so it is possible I didn't have the oven on high enough. I don't want to take away the one thing that the boyfriend cooks better than me =D
ReplyDeleteI enjoy a creme brulee once in a while but like you said, some restaurants don't do it well so it's sometimes just better to make it yourself. I love playing with my blow torch, I have the urge to burn more things after I'm done... lol
ReplyDeleteThere is another way of cooking Brulees which I much prefer than in the oven - you have your mix in a bowl over boiling water and stir slowly for... ages. It is much harder to get right but once you've got the hang of it, the brulees are just spectacular. It's the recipe I use at work so I'll have a go at home sometime and blog about it! ;)
ReplyDeleteHey Phuoc: Everytime we have a bad dish it's so disappointing. Ryan loves the blow torch too... such a fire bug haha! On Saturday he was playing with the matches and candles during Earth Hout =D
ReplyDeleteHey Mike: I've actually tried a non bake recipe too... and it never set! I'll get there one day though I'm scared about it turning out better than Ryan's. I am the dessert queen after all =D Do show and tell when you get a chance to try your recipe.