Classic Creme Brulee

Creme brulee custard base

1. Place the cream in a saucepan.
2. If you’re using vanilla bean to flavor your custard base, split the vanilla bean lengthwise in half. Use the back of your knife to scrape out the caviar. Add the caviar and the vanilla bean pod to the cream. Whisk to combine.
3. Heat the cream over medium / medium-high heat until the cream is steaming and just starts to simmer (not boiling).
4. Let it sit for about 5 -10 minutes to allow the vanilla bean to infuse into the cream. It’s OK to leave it for longer as well.
5. When the cream is infused with the vanilla bean, remove the vanilla bean pod from the cream. (If you want, you can strain the mix as well, but make sure the caviar stays in the cream).
6. Place the egg yolks in a large bowl or jug. Add the sugar (make sure to add the right amount depending on the baking dishes), pinch of salt and bourbon (if using), and whisk together to form a paste.
7. Place the bowl with the egg mixture on a non-slipping surface (i.e. you can keep the bowl on top of a wet cloth napkin or thick paper towel). While whisking constantly, add the hot cream mix in small additions to the egg mixture. The eggs will have tempered enough when about half of the cream is added. Then add the rest of the cream and whisk gently to combine.
8. The custard mixture may have some bubbles on the surface at this point. Cover and let it rest to allow the bubbles to subside. You can also gently stir to remove some of the bubbles.
9. Preheat the oven to 325°F / 170°C.
10. Place the individual baking dishes on a baking tray or roasting dish. Fill the baking dishes about ¾ of the way with the custard. SEE NOTES FOR MORE DETAILS.
11. Place the tray/pan with the filled baking dishes in the preheated oven. Pour HOT WATER (the hottest water you can get from the tap should be fine) into the baking tray/pan until it reaches halfway up the individual baking dishes.
12. Bake for 15 - 40 minutes (depending on the size of the baking dishes) until the custard reaches an internal temperature of about 175 - 180°F. The custards will be a little jiggly in the center and that’s OK. SEE NOTES FOR BAKING TIME VARIATIONS.
13. Remove from the oven, and then remove the baking dishes from the water bath as well. Allow the custard to cool down to room temperature. Cover with plastic wrap and let them chill overnight.

Serving

1. Before serving, caramelize the sugar on the surface of the creme brulee. There are two ways to do this.

Blow torch method

1. Sprinkle a little sugar evenly over the surface of the custard. Make sure the sugar layer is not too thick so it can caramelize quickly.
2. If you used shallow and wide dishes, you may use slightly more sugar to cover the whole surface are. For smaller but deeper dishes, you can use less sugar on the surface.
3. Use a blow torch to caramelize the sugar on the surface. The sugar should first melt, and start to bubble, and then turn from a light golden color to an amber color. Make sure to caramelize all the sugar without staying in one place for too long. Too much heat can curdle the custard underneath.
4. Let the caramelized sugar cool down (just for a minute or two), and then the sugar should be hard to the touch. Serve immediately.

Stove top caramel method

1. In a non-stick pan, add about 1 tbsp of white sugar per portion of creme brulee you will be serving. You may need more if the surface area of the serving dish is larger.
2. Shake the pan to evenly distribute the sugar in one layer on the bottom of the pan.
3. Heat the pan on medium heat and shake it occasionally to caramelize the sugar evenly. The sugar will first melt, and then start turning yellow and rapidly caramelize to an amber color. As the sugar starts to darken to a golden color, turn off the heat. The caramel will continue to cook and turn dark golden/amber in color.
4. You may need another person to assist you in this step - As soon as the caramel turns dark golden in color, remove the pan from the heat and GENTLY pour about 1 tbsp of caramel over the custard. Have the other person IMMEDIATELY swirl the caramel over the entire surface of the custard in a thin even layer before it hardens.
5. Return the pan to the stove that’s still warm (but switched off) in between if needed to keep the caramel liquid. You will need to eye ball the amount of caramel poured out to each dish, since you don’t want to use measuring spoons to measure it out.
6. Repeat with the rest of the dishes. You may need to adjust the amount of sugar to add depending on how you go with the first one. This part needs to be done quickly, while the caramel is still fluid. The caramel hardens up quickly.
7. When all the creme brulee dishes have been coated with caramel, and the caramel is hard to the touch, serve immediately.