Creme Brulee

Creme Brulee is a classic French dish that has fairly simple-looking instructions in the recipe but a few things can go wrong. The creme brulee may turn out grainy, or too watery, or both. I was told that Masterchef Australia recently did a masterclass on making Creme Brulee. Unfortunately, I am unable to watch the series here online in the UK but I did manage to get this recipe off the website. Below the recipe are my tips on making the perfect brulee.

Creme Brulee Recipe (serves 4)

600ml thickened cream
1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped
6 egg yolks
¼ cup caster sugar
120g demerara sugar



Preheat oven to 120°C.
Place the cream, vanilla bean and seeds in a saucepan over medium heat and bring to scalding point, then remove from heat. Remove vanilla bean and discard.
Whisk together egg yolks and caster sugar in a bowl for 2-3 minutes or until pale.
Pour hot cream over egg yolk mixture, continuing to whisk until well combined. Strain mixture into a jug, evenly divide between 4 x 200ml ramekins.
Carefully place ramekins in a deep roasting pan lined with a folded tea towel. Pour boiling water into pan to come halfway up the sides of ramekins. Cover pan loosely with foil.
Bake in the oven for 40 minutes or until the custard has just set. Remove ramekins from the water bath, and set aside to cool.
Sprinkle demerara sugar evenly over the surface of the baked custards. Run a kitchen blowtorch over the custards, or place under a preheated grill until the sugar bubbles and caramelises. Serve.

Hints:
1.If your oven is not fan forced- set the temp at 140 degrees.
2.When bringing the cream to scalding point (not boiling point), I check this with my finger for the right temperature. If I can place the tip of my finger in the cream and it feels hot to the point that it might scald my finger (ie remove your finger quickly), then it is done. Whatever you do, DO NOT BOIL THE CREAM. If is too hot when added to the yolk mixture, the cream will cook the egg yolks instantly and that makes the mixture grainy. If you think you have overheated your cream, leave aside to cool a little bit.
3. After the custards are baked, leave aside to cool to room temp. Then, sprinkle with sugar and I would suggest refrigerating the custards for a few hours.

4. If you do not have a blowtorch, used a preheated grill (make sure your oven is set on top grill ONLY). I then place my custard in a tray filled with cold water. This helps the sugar caramelise without melting the custard.