I was very excited about this week’s Tuesdays with Dorie recipe because I love and I mean love crème brûlée. According to wikipedia, crème brûlée is a dessert consisting of a rich custard base topped with a layer of hard caramel, created by burning sugar under a grill, or with a blowtorch or other intense heat source and it is usually served cold in individual ramekins. I have made crème brûlée many times, but I usually use a Tyler Florence recipe that can be found by clicking here.
Both recipes make a delicious crème brûlée, but I think Dorie’s version is a bit more simplistic; it does not yield as as many servings, thus less work. In comparison to Dorie’s recipe, Tyler’s version has a varied method, is cooked at a higher temperature (325 F) and is cooked for a shorter amount of time using a water bath (bain-marie). Dorie’s version calls for pure vanilla extract, I exchanged this ingredient for one whole vanilla bean that I split and scraped the seeds out of. Once this was done, I put the entire bean along with the seeds into the pan with the cream and milk while it came to a boil. This process infuses the vanilla flavor and leaves behind those beautiful black flecks that I love so much! I did run into a bit of an issue with the cooking time…I planned my baking time according to the directions, but after 50 minutes, the crème brûlée was still pure liquid. Since I had a roast waiting to be tossed into the oven I had to pump up the oven temp to get these babies cooked. It ended up taking over 70 minutes until the middle jiggled ever so slightly. I did use the correct size dishes, they were actually a little smaller than Dorie recommended. Despite the cooking time, this dessert was delicious and I will definitely use this recipe again. I usually use fresh berries to top my crème brûlée; however, my grocery store limited my choices to mushy raspberries or slightly fuzzy strawberries…needless to say, I passed on both! If this post left you wanting some more crème brûlée pics and commentary, check out the TwD blogroll by clicking here. For the recipe, check of Mari’s blog, Mevrouw Cupcake.
*Note– If anyone has been contemplating becoming a part of TwD, I encourage you succumb to the pressure and act quickly…they are capping the group off as of October 31. For more info click here.
*Note #2– Stay tuned because next Tuesday I will have a little giveaway to celebrate fall!
*Note #2– Stay tuned because next Tuesday I will have a little giveaway to celebrate fall!
Zeitgeist
Monday 21st of September 2009
I also baked creme brulee a few times in the past using Tyler's recipe. I was hesistate on trying out Dorie's recipe as her instruction doesn't require to bake these in a water bath. It's interesting to know that you have tried both and discussed about the result! I think for now, I'll keep baking creme brulee using a water bath!
Love the picture!
pinkstripes
Wednesday 1st of October 2008
Your photos are gorgeous! Your brulee top turned out wonderful.
kim
Wednesday 1st of October 2008
yum, your creme brulee looks perfect! great pics! using the vanilla bean sounds great (i always want to try this, but then get scared off by the price of the beans, hehe)
Liz
Tuesday 30th of September 2008
Oh, your photos are gorgeous. And I agree, I loved the simplicity of the recipe--anything that omits a water bath is fine by me! :)
Dee
Tuesday 30th of September 2008
Your brulee looks great! And so do your crackers. Love the blog :)