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Crème Brulée

Serves 6

French for burnt cream, crème brulée is one of those desserts that entered the American lexicon through the restaurant kitchen door. But it happens to be fairly simple to reproduce at home. Choose organic cream or heavy whipping cream with a fat content of at least 40 percent. Kitchen shops sell a special torch designed for making crème brulée; a propane torch from the hardware store works equally well.

3 cups heavy cream

1 vanilla bean, split and scraped (or 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste)

¾ cup sugar

6 egg yolks

6 tablespoons turbinado sugar (or sugar in the raw)

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees and place six 6-ounce ramekins in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.

2. In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, stir the heavy cream and the split vanilla bean with a heatproof silicone spatula or a wooden spoon and cook until the mixture is steaming hot, and just beginning to boil.

3. Meanwhile, whisk the sugar and egg yolks in a large mixing bowl until the mixture is pale yellow and slightly foamy. Remove the cream mixture from the heat and stir about ½ cup of the hot cream into the egg mixture. Transfer the egg mixture to the pot with the remaining cream and stir gently until smooth. If you used a vanilla bean instead of vanilla bean paste, remove the bean, scrape any clinging pulp or seeds into the custard and discard the pod.

4. Distribute the custard evenly between the six ramekins. Pour enough water into the baking dish to reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake the custards in the hot water bath until the top is set but the custards are still slightly jiggly, about 35 minutes. Remove the custards from the oven and cool. They may be baked ahead and refrigerated for several hours or, covered in plastic, overnight.

5. Just before serving, working with one custard at a time, sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the turbinado sugar over the top of each custard and carefully run the flame of a propane torch over the top of the custard to melt and caramelize the sugar. Serve at once.

Greg Atkinson, 2007