Crème Brûlée Two Ways

America's Test Chicken consists of two separate chickens, each with her own take on this cooking thing. Check out Chicken One's related blog, A Travel for Taste where she shares travel stories and recipes collected whenever she ventures abroad. And give Chicken Two's new, also-related blog, Poop from the Coop a read. There you can find stories about her personal adventure re-experiencing the kitchen after many years away. Please join our Facebook group to share your own recipes, kitchen practices and know-how. We are also on Pinterest and Instagram.

The complete recipes appear at the end of this post.

From Chicken One: Crème Anglaise, er, Brûlée I wouldn't exactly say that I had a SCAFU (Situation Chicken All Fowled Up) with this project, but maybe a Scaflette. Since I always strive to make the most authentic version of any recipe the first time, I went to what I thought was the source: Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. However, in the book, Julia rather imperiously informs the reader: Although many people think of it as a French dessert, crème brûlée is actually Creole. A later edition of the same book replaced that line with: Crème brûlée originated in England, it appears, at Christ’s College in Cambridge.   Both are followed by the exact same directions: Make the basic cream exactly like the preceding crème anglaise, but use half the amount of sugar, and whipping cream instead of milk. Chill in a serving dish. I assumed that I should follow these modified instructions to the crème angalise recipe and end up with custardy crème brûlée. Therefore, I less-than-simmered the egg/milk mixture til it coated the spoon: ...poured equal amounts into four ramekins: ...and put them in the refrigerator to chill. But, after a couple of hours, I still had liquidy crème anglaise. So, the Two Chickens having put our heads together on the subject, I put the crème anglaise in the oven just like a normal crème brûlée recipe says to do. You have to bake the dishes in what is called a bain marie, which is nothing more than a water bath. Use a deep baking dish with all the custard dishes placed inside. Once in the oven, you fill the baking dish with boiling water til it comes halfway up the sides of the custard dishes. The water helps even out the temperature for the custard and also creates steam that prevents a tough skin forming on top of each dish. Only then did I end up with custardy crème brûlée at last! THEN I put them in the fridge to completely cool. Almost anticlimactically, but not quite, I got to use my new kitchen torch to carmelize the sugar on top, which was kind of the whole point of the endeavor anyway!   So, save yourself some trouble and follow the recipe below - I've modified the original to the procedure I actually followed - and you'll be fine.  It IS delicious!

From Chicken Two: Coffee Crème Brûlée I think of all the dishes on my cooking bucket list, this is the one that has haunted me for some time. Maybe I was afraid of setting the kitchen on fire! Who knows? But, honestly, it turned out to be so much simpler than I ever imagined. Cream, milk, sugar and salt in one pan warmed (careful not to boil) until sugar is melted. Whisk eggs and add the warm cream mixture slowly... mixing gently, so as not to create foam. I didn't have any brûlée dishes, something I later resolved, but 4-oz ramekins worked just fine. You have to use 6 instead of 4, but, hey, more to eat! See the flame? Cool, huh! Not sure why I was so intimidated at the thought of this process, but I actually loved doing it. For all you coffee lovers, it's really yummy!

Crème Brûlée 

(modified from crème anglaise per Julia Child)
Makes about 2 cups

Julia sez: This sauce is a blend of egg yolks, sugar, and milk stirred over heat until it thickens into a light cream. If it comes near the simmer, the yolks will scramble. Although it can be omitted, a very small amount of starch in the sauce acts as a safeguard just in case the heat becomes too much for the egg yolks. Some recipes direct that the sauce be cooked in a double boiler; this is slow work and quite unnecessary if you concentrate on what you are doing, and use a heavy-bottomed saucepan. A candy thermometer is a useful guide. Vanilla is the basic flavoring; others are added to the vanilla if you wish (see below).

Ingredients:
1/4 cup granulated sugar
4 egg yolks
1 tsp cornstarch or potato starch, optional
1 ¾ cup barely boiling whipping cream

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 300 F (150 C).

In a 3-quart mixing bowl, gradually beat the sugar into the egg yolks and continue beating for 2 to 3 minutes until the mixture is pale yellow and forms a silky ribbon.

Beat in the optional starch.

While beating the yolk mixture, very gradually pour on the boiling cream in a thin stream of droplets so that the yolks are slowly warmed. Too fast and you’ll have scrambled eggs.

Pour the mixture into a clean, heavy-bottomed enameled or stainless steel saucepan and set over moderate heat, stirring slowly and continuously with a wooden spatula or spoon, and reaching all over the bottom and sides of the pan, until the sauce thickens just enough to coat the spoon with a light, creamy layer. Do not let the custard come anywhere near the simmer. Maximum temperature is 165 degrees on the candy thermometer (170 if you have used starch). Then beat the sauce off heat for a minute or two to cool it. Strain it through a fine sieve, and beat in vanilla extract plus any optional flavorings:

1 Tablespoon rum, kirsch, cognac, orange liqueur or instant coffee OR,
2 or 3 ounces or squares of semisweet baking chocolate melted in the cream, and 1 tsp vanilla extract stirred into the finished sauce

Pour equal amounts into four oven-proof (ramekins or crème brûlée dishes). Place a large, high-sided baking dish on an oven rack. Put the custard dishes in the baking dish and make sure they all sit level. Pour boiling water into the baking dish so that the water comes halfway up the sides of the custard dishes. Gently slide into the oven and close the door.

 Coffee Crème Brûlée

1 1/3 cups heavy cream

2/3 cup whole or low-fat milk

1/4 cup granulated sugar, plus more for caramelizing

Pinch of sea salt or kosher salt

4 large egg yolks

1 tbsp instant espresso or coffee powder

2 tsp Kahlua or other coffee-flavored liqueur

1. Preheat oven to 300F (150C)

2. Put four individual gratin dishes (or 6 ramekins) on a high-rimmed baking sheet or any pan with sides big enough to hold them. (I had to use 2)

3. In a small saucepan over medium heat, warm the cream, milk, sugar and salt until the sugar is melted.

4. In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Gradually add the warm cream to the egg yolks in a steady stream, stirring until the cream is completely incorporated. Don't beat it, you don't want foam. Mix in the espresso  powder and strain the mixture into a large measuring cup (or something with a spout) and then stir in the Kahlua. 

5. Divide the mixture among the dishes. Put the baking sheet of custards on the oven rack and pour enough hot water on the sheet so that it reaches at least halfway up the sides of the dishes. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until they are just set. They should barely quiver when you jiggle the pan.  Remove and set them on a cooling rack. When cool, refrigerate until ready to serve.

6. To caramelize, sprinkle the tops with an even layer of sugar. It should cover the top but not too heavily - about 1 1/2 tsp should do it. Using a blowtorch, wave the flame over each custard, one at a time, until the sugar melts and browns. Serve immediately. Yum!