I decided to end my mini-hiatus from the blog with an easy recipe for Crème Brûlée. Yes, I am using dessert as a peace offering for disappearing on you.
This year the plan was to shoot and share at least one recipe (if not more) every week. It’s March and I could not have fallen flatter on my face (if I can take liberties with the English language)! Forget sharing a recipe per week, I think I have not shared one in more than a month. A perfect example of “Man Proposes, God Disposes!”
It Is Okay To Take A Creative Break
I do not like to make excuses and am more in the category of – How do we make the best of the situation and get things done? But the more I try and do it, the more I realise that sometimes we are unkind to ourselves. We set unrealistic expectations and always try to swim against the tide. It is sometimes okay to let it be and go with the flow, don’t you think? So, while I could have pushed and pushed myself some more and posted recipes regularly, I am sure it would have impacted my quality and my sanity. The past couple of weeks my hands have been full homeschooling two children. Plus make sure they are engaged, entertained, the house was running smoothly and everyone at home kept their sanity. With all the tasks on hand, I decided to step back and take a creative break.
Instead, I chose to focus and stay in the moment, not to multitask, and to put all my energies into helping my family (and myself) get over these challenging times. Trust me no amount of crash courses in patience and perseverance could have prepared us for times like these! I am not trying to preach this life to others, but sharing my experience with what is working for me. Most importantly, because as my readers, I feel you all have the right to know the reasons behind my mini disappearing act.
Onward And Upward
I truly hope that I can come back to sharing and posting regularly soon enough. And that the testing times our global village is facing comes to an end. While we are at that, let us take a moment to be grateful for all the things that we have taken for granted thus far. Simple things we did not think twice before doing or enjoying which in the current times feel like a true luxury (threading my brows for example)! On a lighter note, let me share an anecdote on the topic. The other day I was catching up with a friend over the phone (cannot remember when I caught up with one in person last) and the conversation somehow turned to our current “brow status”. Yes, that is the kind of cool conversation I have with my “brows” or do I mean “bros”. She went on to say – I do not have two eyebrows anymore, they have grown and become one! Totally empathising and living the same scenario I had to share my depressing status – Mine looks like The Very Hungry Caterpillar! Now, I leave it to your imagination to figure who is living the worse nightmare.
Crème Brûlée To the Rescue
From brows to dessert. Today I share with you the recipe for this delicious Crème Brûlée. I had to go through my fair share of recipes online and some cookbooks to finally create this one. It was a commissioned work for which the client had shared a recipe too but when I am making something for a client that I am not very confident of, I try and not leave anything to chance. And hence all the research which benefitted the client and now all of you. While the measurements in my recipe are not exactly the same as her’s, I do recommend watching Sally’s video recipe to make a Crème Brûlée. It will help you get a hang of the method.
A few things to keep in mind:
- Do not substitute castor sugar with regular sugar for best results.
- Tempering the egg yolks is a critical step.
- It is very easy to over bake a Crème Brûlée. Bake it until the centre is a tad wobbly while the edges are set.
- Using a kitchen torch is recommended. I did as I had one handy. In case you do not have one, please have a look at three alternative ways you can do it.
With the above steps taken care of, it is a great make-ahead dessert that comes together in a jiffy.
Ingredients
- Heavy Cream- 4 cups
- Vanilla Bean, scraped- 1 or 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- Castor Sugar- 1 cup, divided
- Egg Yolks- 6
- Hot Water- 8 cups or as needed
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 160 degrees centigrade
- On low heat bring heavy cream to a gentle boil (until you see bubbles start to form), then turn off heat
- While the cream is boiling, whisk 6 egg yolks with 1/2 cup sugar until well blended and the mixture has lightened in colour. This would require approximately 10-12 minutes of continuous whisking
- When the cream is warm (and not boiling hot), take about 1/2 a cup of it and gradually add to the egg yolk-sugar mixture, mixing gently
- Continuing to whisk the mixture, add the remaining heavy cream gradually and not all at one go
- Pour the mixture into six 8 ounce ramekins and place the ramekins into a large roasting pan making sure you have spaced them out well enough to be able to bring them out of the pan when still hot
- Pour hot water into the roasting pan so that it comes halfway to the ramekins and bake for 35-40 minutes or until the sides are set but the centre is still a tad wobbly
- Remove the ramekins from the baking tray, bring to room temperature and refrigerate overnight
- Next day, bring the ramekins out of the refrigerator and let them sit out for 30 minutes
- Then sprinkle the remaining half cup caster sugar, dividing it equally amongst the six ramekins and spreading evenly
- Using a blow torch caramelise the sugar to form a crispy top
- Let it sit for 5-7 minutes before digging in.
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