burnt food

I've mentioned in a previous post, I don't make or create a lot of dessert type foods. However, the one dessert I've been able mastered is crème brûlée. I first became fascinated with crème brûlée during the winter of 2005. I saw it being prepared on the cooking show Chef at Home with Michael Smith. What probably fascinated me the most about the dish is the aspect of using a torch to create the caramelized sugar top. Big dangerous tool in the kitchen with lots of fire? Yes, please!

The first time I made crème brûlée I didn't have a torch so I settled for using the broil setting on a toaster oven - I wasn't at all pleased with the end result. From that one failure I was determined to learn to make the dish well. I spent about four months of trial and error to perfect my version of crème brûlée. I made several batches and tweaked the levels of sugar and cream of each until I finally got the flavour profile and texture I wanted.

The result?

I believe my crème brûlée is creamier in texture than the normal custard and not as sweet as other versions of this famous dish. A higher ratio of cream to egg yolks gives a creamier texture; custard that melts in your mouth and almost wants to run off the spoon. I use a low amount of sugar in the custard but make a strong caramelized layer on the top (using tubinado sugar) . Breaking the glass like layer of caramel into the custard gives wonderful bursts of sweetness that is mellowed out and balanced by the cool custard.

I love this dish. It's so simple in terms of its ingredients and flavours but it is also difficult to do well. I've been told my version is better than what you can find in most restaurants around where I live. Hearing that makes me glad but at the same time it makes me ask myself, "can I make it any better?"