Mmm… crème brûlée…

Crème brûlée is just one of those desserts that’s too good to be true. Rich, creamy, decadent, ooey-gooey wonderfulness. And that crunchy sugar top that’s just so satisfying to break with a spoon… How can you not love crème brûlée? Okay, maybe if you were lactose intolerant. Or allergic to milk. Or on a really strict diet. But that’s beside the point!

You don’t have to wait until you see it on a restaurant menu to enjoy this little gourmet luxury; it’s really simple to make at home! And once you learn the technique, there are countless variations that you can experiment with. So I’m going to go through the technique involved, using this recipe for Coffee-Caramel Crème Brûlée.

This particular recipe  makes a lovely coffee-infused custard. To do this, you add crushed coffee beans to a cup of cream in a saucepan, bring it to a simmer, cover, and let it steep for 20 minutes to an hour.

Meanwhile, it’s time to prepare the other part of the equation — the caramel. Making caramel is just a matter of boiling sugar water. Combine 2/3 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water in a saucepan and stir over low heat until dissolved. Increase the heat to bring it to a boil.

Keep on boiling until it turns a deep amber color. As it boils, periodically brush down the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush, and give the pan a swirl now and then. When you reach the desired color, take the pan off the heat. Voilà! Caramel!

Next, it’s time to make the custard. Add a cup of whipping cream to the caramel and stir over low heat until smooth. Stir in 2 cups half and half. Pour in your coffee-infused cream through a strainer.

Whisk 8 egg yolks (save the whites for egg white omelets!), 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/3 cup sugar in a large bowl. Gradually pour in the coffee-caramel-cream mixture, whisking as you pour to combine. Strain the custard into a big measuring cup (with a pour spout).

Now, this amount of custard will make eight servings if you’re using 3/4-cup ramekins. But feel free to use any size ramekin you fancy. Short and wide is the best shape, so you can maximize the amount of crunchy sugar topping.

Arrange your ramekins of choice in a pan with high sides and divide the custard amongst the ramekins. Add warm water to the pan until it comes about halfway up the sides of the ramekins.

Bake at 325° F for 65-70 minutes, or until the centers of the custard are just set (do the jiggle test). Stick the ramekins right in the fridge, uncovered, until they are thoroughly chilled (at least 3 hours or up to a day).

Now the fun part. This is where you get to use FIRE!

You’ll need a blow torch of some kind. They sell little kitchen blow torches (see photo below) at specialty kitchen stores. You could use a regular blow torch as well, just don’t go too wild with an enormous flame (i.e., please don’t set your kitchen on fire).

Sprinkle some raw sugar (demerara, turbinado, whatever raw sugar you find at the supermarket) on top of each custard. Shake the ramekins around to ensure even coverage, and shake off any excess. Flame the sugar, constantly moving the torch, until it melts and browns. Don’t keep the torch in one place too long, or you’ll have some burnt spots. The key is to get a nice, even browning.

You just made crème brûlée! Nice work!

Serve it right away, as is. Crème brûlée needs to accompaniaments. Well, except for perhaps a dark, roasty stout. Or, the creaminess of a milk stout would be very nice here. Really, any stout would be lovely with this coffee-flavored custard. If you were to make a plain crème brûlée (as in, no added flavorings), a really interesting pairing would be a big, malty, hoppy Imperial IPA. Opposites do attract!

Do try making crème brûlée at home. If anything, do it just to use a blow torch. It’s way fun.