Vanilla Creme Brulee

I made this for our FHE dessert last night. I love all things vanilla so I had to try this. Yum!! It's easy but a bit time consuming. Since I don't have a torch, I thought I'd try the broiler to caramelize the sugar. It worked fine although it doesn't melt the sugar as evenly as a torch would. I tried it with one custard first, to make sure it would work and when I took it out of the oven, I was putting it on the counter and I dropped it on the floor. Blast! So Puppers got some creme brulee, too. And I was a bit annoyed because all of the little tiny vanilla seeds all settled at the bottom of each cup. Joshie the impossible wouldn't even try it, and Tiernan very timidly tried it and he didn't like it either (perhaps because of Joshie?) but Jeff and Amelia and I loved it.

Vanilla Creme Brulee

3 C. (24 oz) heavy whipping cream

1/2 C. plus 5 Tbsp sugar, divided

1 vanilla bean

9 large egg yolks

Place the cream and 1/2 cup of the sugar in a medium sauce pan. Use the tip of a paring knife to split the vanilla bean in half lengthwise. Turn the knife over and use the dull side to scrape out the seeds, and add both the seeds and the pod to the saucepan. Whisk well to break up the clumps of vanilla seeds. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring several times to dissolve the sugar, just until the mixture begins to simmer. Remove the pan from the heat, cover, and let steep for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and position an oven rack in the center.

Reheat the mixture over medium heat, uncovered, until it begins to simmer. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks. Twist a damp kitchen towel into a rope and wrap it around the bottom of the bowl to secure it while you temper the eggs. (Or use a bowl w/ a non-slip surface.) Pour about 1/2 cup of the hot cream mixture into the eggs, whisking constantly. Once blended, whisk in another 1/2 cup. Then slowly pour the rest of the mixture into the eggs, whisking constantly.

Pour the mixture through a strainer into a pitcher or large measuring cup with a spout. Reserve the vanilla pod. Cut a piece of foil large enough to fit just inside the edges of a large roasting pan. Place the custard cups in the roasting pan, making sure they don't touch, and divide the warm custard among them. Pull out the oven rack and place the pan on the rack. Remove one of the cups, pour enough hot tap water (not boiling) into that area to come halfway up the sides of the cups, and replace the cup. Lay the foil across the top of the cups, making sure it doesn't touch the custard. Gently push the rack back into the oven, and bake the custards for 35 to 50 minutes, until the edges of the custards are almost set - there should still be a small liquid area in the very center of the custard, about the size of a dime (test by gently tapping the side of the pan). (I baked mine for 45 minutes, and there was no liquid in the center and they were still delish.)

Remove the foil and then the pan from the oven being careful not to tilt the pan and splash water on top of the custards. Use tongs (or your had protected by a kitchen towel) to immediately remove the cups from the water bath and place them on a rack to cool to room temperature, about 40 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold, at least 4 hours or overnight.

Sprinkle the surface of each cold custard with 2 teaspoons of the remaining sugar. Shake the cup gently to distribute the sugar evenly. - make sure it covers the custard all the way to the edge. Set the sugared custards on a metal baking sheet. Caramelize one custard at a time: Light the torch and, with the tip of the flame just touching he surface, move the flame over the sugar in a gentle circular motion until most of the sugar is melted and looks like tiny water droplets. Continue to heat, using the same circular motion, until the sugar turns a deep golden brown. The molten caramel will bubble and smoke - this is normal. repeat until all the custards are caramelized. The molten caramel will solidify into a crisp surface as it cools. Refrigerate for 10 minutes before serving. (You can just put the tray of custard cups under the broiler to caramelize. Just watch closely because once the sugar starts to melt it goes quickly.)

Serve and enjoy!!

This made 7 custards of various sizes. : )

I made one in a glass Pyrex cup and since you can't broil glass dishes, I poured the sugar off of that custard and caramelized it in a pan and then poured it on top, but then I couldn't spread it

around because there was still some sugar on top of the custard, preventing it from sticking, so it turned out like this. ha ha!

Oh, you can use rinse the vanilla bean and let it dry and then use it to make vanilla sugar, which is what I did today. But I haven't tasted it yet.