Bake Along: Black Bottom Creme Brulee

 

Hi All! I am linking up with Amanda at Rhyme and Ribbons for her weekly GBBO baking link-up.

 

Crème Brulee is my dessert of choice from last week's Great British Bake-off.

I have never made it, but I LOVE it every time I order it in a restaurant. 

Also - I treated my 9 year old daughter to her first Creme Brulee experience recently and it was a complete and utter disaster.  Let's just say it involved a frozen mess that the manager insisted was Crème Brulee even though we had to wait nearly a half an hour for the cream to melt enough for our spoon to be able to cut in.  I assured her that that mess wasn't Brulee and that we would remedy this dessert situation as soon as possible. 

 

And today is the day!

 

I recently bought this cookbook for myself on my birthday.  I deserved it - and the recipes looked amazing!!

The recipes are all small batch, so if you are hankering for something sweet, you can whip it up, enjoy a bowl or slice, then not have to worry about when you are going to eat the leftovers cause there aren't any!!

 



 

 

Ingredients

(makes 2  8oz brulees, or 3 6oz brulees)

 

3 large egg yolks

1/2 cup (120 ml) heavy cream

1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar & 2 tsp for serving

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 or 3 tbsp. mini chocolate chips

 

 

1.  Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Boil water to use for water bath.

 

2.  Whisk together egg yolks, cream, 1/4 cup of sugar and vanilla until well combined.

 

 

 

3.  Sprinkle 1 tbsp. of chocolate chips into the bottom of each ramekin then divide and pour custard mixture into each cup. 

 

 

4.  Place ramekins in a baking dish and carefully fill the dish half full with hot water. 

 

5.  Bake for 40-50 minutes in the water bath.  The brulees are done when the edges are set and the middle slightly jiggles. 

 

6.  Remove the ramekins from the water and refrigerate until chilled - at least 2 hours. 

 

 

7.  Before serving, sprinkle the remaining sugar on top of the cooked custard and torch with a culinary torch.  Or, as Mary Berry would prefer you do, place the ramekins back into your oven and use the broiler to melt and brown your sugar.  It will only take a minute or two, so watch carefully!!

 



 

And how did mine turn out??

Truthfully I was sure I had over baked the custard because I had very little "jiggle" in my crème.  I was also very worried about over-broiling my sugar. I watched it like a hawk and pulled it out several times to check it.

 

But in the end, when I set the family down to give my brulees a  try, the verdict was a unanimous "STAR BAKER!"

 

The crème was soft and creamy and the sugar crunchy and caramelized.  And the surprise chocolate at the bottom?  Gooey and sweet. 

 



 

 I will definitely use this recipe again.  Now that I have done it, I realize that Crème Brulee isn't all that hard.  I think it will become a favourite around here because it is gluten-free as well - perfect for my son and husband!

 

Looking forward to seeing everyone else's recipes and delicious desserts.

 

Happy Baking everyone!

 

XOXOX

 

Bronwyn