Crème brûlée

Of all the ways to enjoy custard, there's not much better than crème brûlée.

Photo: Ruth Barry

When I was ten, our family dog, Pusey (short for pusillanimous), had five puppies, two yellow and three black. My mum would often make them a dish of egg custard. I was reminded of the sloppy, chaotic scenes that followed when I set a ramekin of crème brûlée in front of my two-year-old son for the first time. When it was thoroughly cleaned, he went around the table helping everyone else finish theirs.

Custard in all its forms is a joy: Silky crème anglaise pooled around a scoop of hot apple crumble. In a trifle, a jiggling, almost-set layer sandwiched between raspberry-soaked ladyfingers and whipped cream. Any egg-custard tart, but especially pastel de nata. I grew up with a homely version: Bird’s custard, an eggless, cornflour-based powder that could be mixed with sugar and milk to make a very quick dessert. A tin of peaches or pears or mandarin slices would be divided out between us all, and Bird’s custard ladled over the top.

Of all the ways to enjoy custard, créme brûlée is my favorite. It’s one of those desserts that teeter on the edge of disaster. The custard can scramble easily and turn into an eggy mess. But when it’s done right, it’s sublime, and with the sugar brûléed to a delicate pane, cracking the surface is as satisfying as stepping on a frozen puddle. For a dessert that impresses so much, it’s remarkably straightforward to make. A few minutes on the stove, a few more in the oven, a short rest in the fridge, then a quick blast with a blowtorch. You’ll probably spend longer thinking about how much you enjoyed eating it.

Using a blowtorch isn’t as scary as it might seem, and you'll probably get a kick out of watching the flame tickle the sugar into caramelization. This recipe makes four servings, but it's easily doubled (or tripled) if you’re feeding a crowd.

Photo: Ruth Barry

Crème brûlée

Serves 4

• 2 egg yolks

• 200 grams heavy cream

• 40 grams whole milk

• 25 grams sugar

• ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt (or a generous pinch of any other salt)

• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

• Fine sugar to finish

Equipment:

• 4 small ramekins

• Blowtorch

• Small roasting pan

Put the ramekins into a small roasting pan or deep cake tin and set aside. Preheat the oven to 140ºC (285ºF). Boil a kettleful of water.

In a medium bowl, add the yolks and 15 grams of the sugar. Whisk until it looks smooth and a little lighter in color. Set aside.

Pour the cream and milk into a small, heavy-based saucepan. Add the remaining 10 grams of sugar to the pan, along with the salt and vanilla extract. Set the saucepan over a medium heat and stir frequently until it just starts to boil. Take the saucepan off the heat.

Pour about a third of the hot cream into the bowl of egg yolks and use a whisk to mix it well. Then add the cream-and-egg-yolk mixture back into the saucepan.

Divide the mixture evenly between the four ramekins (I usually use a small ladle). Bring the roasting pan, with the ramekins sitting in it, to the oven and place on the middle shelf. Pour the hot water from the kettle into the roasting pan until the water reaches at least a third of the way up the side of the ramekins. Bake in the oven for 25–30 minutes, or until the custard is barely set. It should still wobble in the middle. I start checking at around 20 minutes.

When the custard has cooked, carefully remove the tray from the oven and take the ramekins from the water (I use a pair of tongs to lift them out or a folded tea towel). Cool the custard completely before refrigerating. You can leave it in the fridge for several hours, overnight, or even for a couple of days.

Add a teaspoon of sugar to the surface of each custard. Shake the ramekin to cover the surface evenly, then tip the remaining sugar out of the ramekin (the dumped-out sugar can be reused). Use a blowtorch to brûlée the sugar. It burns easily, so be sure to stop before it goes too far. If you don’t have a blowtorch, you can use the broiler, but it will take longer and may result in the custard underneath getting too warm.

Serve immediately.