Shaker Gourmet: Crème Brûlée

Our recipe comes via Maurinsky of the blog, Laughing Wild, who says: "We made a batch last night, and it is divine. It's a little fluffier than the crème brûlée we had in France (because I was whipping a little too fervently when tempering the eggs, I think), but so, so lovely."

Crème Brûlée
2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar
4 egg yolks
pinch of salt
vanilla bean seeds (1/2 a bean, split, seeds scraped out)
sugar to top

Preheat oven to 350. In medium saucepan, mix together the cream, sugar, and salt. Place over low heat until just steaming (should happen as it just starts to bubble). In a mixing bowl, mix together the 4 yolks until smooth. Temper the eggs by slowly adding a tablespoon of the cream mixture, while vigorously mixing the eggs (we do not want scrambled eggs). When about half the cream mixture has been added to the eggs, then mix the egg mixture back into the cream mixture - again, not too fast. Add the vanilla bean seeds in and mix. Then fill custard cups and place them in a pan. Fill the pan with water so it reaches halfway up the sides of the custard cups. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes - the custard should be mostly firm but not completely firm at the center.

Chill for a minimum of 2 hours.

Cover the top of each custard with sugar (I put the remainder of the vanilla bean into the sugar jar, so I used vanilla scented sugar). Either place under the broiler or use a kitchen torch to melt the sugar. Let it sit for a few minutes before serving.

Maurinsky also notes: "Just an FYI, if you decide to make this: don't use brown sugar on top. My husband did that and it was more crème flambé than crème brûlée."

If you'd like to participate in Shaker Gourmet, email me (include a blog link!) at: shakergourmet (at) gmail.com