Crème Brûlée

My son wanted a dessert that he could “light on fire” to celebrate his 12th birthday. I hope that this is age appropriate. 😉

After rejecting my suggestion of Bananas Foster, he chose a classic crème brûlée. and… yes, with close supervision, he torched his dessert!

This recipe was adapted from Barefoot in Paris by Ina Garten, via Food Network.com. I used large eggs, Cointreau instead of Grand Marnier, slightly adapted the method and increased the baking time. Special and delicious.

Yield: Makes 6 ramekins/servings

• 1 large egg
• 4 large egg yolks
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus 1 tablespoon for each serving
• 3 cups heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon orange liqueur (such as Cointreau or Grand Marnier)

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the egg, egg yolks, and 1/2 cup of the sugar together on low-speed until just combined.
3. Meanwhile, scald the cream in a small saucepan until it’s very hot to the touch but not boiled.
4. With the mixer on low-speed, slowly add the cream to the eggs. (I transferred the hot cream to a liquid measuring cup to ease adding it into the mixer bowl.)
5. Add the vanilla and liqueur and pour into 6 to 8-ounce ramekins until almost full.
6. Place the ramekins in a 9×13 pyrex baking pan (I placed a square silicone pot holder underneath the ramekins so that they didn’t shift in the pan.)
7. Glide the oven rack out of the oven cavity and place the pan on the rack. Carefully pour boiling water into the pan to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. (I used a tea kettle.)
8. Slowly glide rack into the oven and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until the custards are set when gently shaken.
9. Remove the custards from the water bath, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate until firm. (I refrigerated them overnight.)
10. To serve, spread 1 tablespoon of sugar evenly on the top of each ramekin and heat with a kitchen blowtorch until the sugar caramelizes evenly.
11. Allow to sit at room temperature for a minute until the caramelized sugar hardens.

and…

Of course, it wouldn’t be a birthday in our house without also having Number Cookies. 🙂 I had to make a couple of numeric “12’s” to go along with my son’s Roman Numeral “XII’s”. 🙂 They were swimming pool blue for my swimmer this year. ❤

One Year Ago:

• Eleventh Birthday Longboard Cake! (Yellow Cake with Chocolate Icing)

Two Years Ago:

• Black Hole Birthday Cake
• Morning Glory Muffins
• Zucchini-Chocolate Chip Muffins

Three Years Ago:

• Minecraft Enderman Cake
• Alton Brown’s Basic Waffles with Blueberries

Four Years Ago:

• Birthday Cake Gallery

If you like this you may also like:

• Black & White Crème Brûlée

About Josette@thebrookcook

I live in Stony Brook, New York on Long Island. I love garlic and baking. My hobby (and love) is to try new recipes. My favorite recipe resources include The New York Times, Food and Wine, Bon Appetit, and Martha Stewart Living. Enjoy!

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