The Secret to Creme Brulee

First, repeat after me.

"This is a torch and THIS is a lighter..."

"This is a torch and THIS is a lighter..."

"This is a torch and THIS is a lighter..."

Now...the secret to creme brulee is cold "creme" and hot "brulee."  The creme part of this delicious dessert is a custard made from egg yolks, sugar and cream.  You cook it slowly so that it does not curdle or separate.  Then you have to chill it.  Preferably overnight.  Then, just before serving, you top it with sugar and torch the top to caramelize the sugar.  A perfect creme brulee goes to the table hot on the top from the torch, but cold underneath.

A very good friend of ours, who happens to be a caterer, had a party the other night for 60 guests.  The dessert was creme brulee.

Realizing, the day of the event, that he could not find his torch, he asked if we had one he could borrow. We had borrowed a bunch of supplies from them the week before, including some portable butane burners, and they were coming over anyway to pick them up.   I found our torch and put it aside for them.  It was blue, very much like the one in the photo, only a bit smaller.

That afternoon, we were both busy.  I was out of the shop running an errand, and he was prepping for dinner.  He sent one of his servers to pick up his supplies and the torch. One of my employees helped load the truck.

Long story made short, the serve took a "blue" lighter instead of the blue torch.

When I returned from my errands, I noticed the torch was still on the counter and called the caterer.  Voice mail.  Left a message that I would be happy to drop it off if they called and let me know where the event was.  Never got a call back.

When the server returned, the caterer asked if he had the blue torch.  The server said yes. And that was that.  Until it was time to torch the cremes for dessert.  He asked for the torch and was handed the lighter.

I won't repeat what happened next.

"This is a torch and THIS is a lighter..."

Even if the lighter is blue.

Recipe for Creme Brulee

2 cups heavy cream

5 large egg yolks

1/2 cup sugar

1 vanilla bean

1. Using a wire whisk or an electric mixer fitted with the whip attachment, vigorously whisk egg yolks with granulated sugar in a large bowl, until mixture becomes light in color and sugar has dissolved a bit; set aside.
2. In a medium-sized saucepan, combine heavy cream with vanilla beans which have been carefully split down the center, its fragrant black seeds scraped from the pod, and both combined with the cream. Bring the mixture to a simmer; when small bubbles have formed around the edges of the cream it is ready.
3. Gradually pour the cream mixture into the egg/sugar mix, whisking gently by hand to combine. Strain custard through a fine mesh strainer, retrieve vanilla bean and place it back into the custard. Chill and cover mixture with a sheet of plastic wrap, pierced several times to release any steam (chilling mixture overnight will let the flavors develop and allow custard to thicken a bit).
4. Preheat oven to 350*F (180*C). Place individual ramekins in a baking pan, large enough to hold 4 to 5 six-ounce custard cups and deep enough to allow the water for the bain-marie to be added reaching at least halfway up the sides of the dishes.
5. Remove the vanilla bean from the custard mixture (can be reserved for another use) and fill ramekins 3/4 full. Place pan in preheated oven and pour hot water into baking pan so water level reaches halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Cover pan with a sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil, sealing edges to retain steam. Cook 40 to 50 minutes or until custards are set. To test for doneness, gently shake the individual ramekins; if center is still a bit liquid-like or wobbly return custards to oven and continue to cook, checking every 5 to 7 minutes, until it has just set, with a small area in the center, the size of a quarter, still a bit loose.
6. Remove ramekins from baking pan and chill custard in refrigerator several hours or until chilled through.
7. To serve put a thin layer of granulated sugar atop each custard. Using a blow torch, over a heat and flame proof surface (like over a large cookie or baking sheet) caramelize sugar working from the outside in towards the middle keeping the torch in constant motion. Sugar should be golden brown and caramelized never black. If burnt, let the sugar layer cool a few minutes than peel it away with a paring knife and begin again.
8. Serve immediately.