The easiest crème brûlée you will ever make takes just five ingredients. Crème brûlée is already a tease of a dish, hiding behind a lacy, crisp glass of sugar. I assumed that such a fancy dresser was sophisticated and complicated. I saw brûlée torches for sale as high-end foodie gadgetry with a price to match.
I’ll let you in on a secret: Crème brûlée is nothing but smoke and mirrors. Some chefs may disagree with me, and as soon as they see my recipe, they’ll probably wonder if I even know what "crème" is, but my point is that what people want is that cracked pane of broiled sugar. Caramel candied topping is the illusion of the culinary magician.
You can create a brûlée with a propane gas torch from any hardware store. Yes, those industrial torches have been doing this job in professional kitchens since crème brûlée became a favorite for dessert. Dedicated brûlée torches are inventions of marketing aimed at the home cook.
Once you have a tool to complete your grand finale, sprinkle the top of just about anything — French toast, oatmeal, cake, pie, crème — with some sugar and run the flame from the torch over the top. You can attempt this with your oven broiler, but there’s the risk of a beautifully browned crust becoming burnt brittle.
LILIKOI CRÉME BRÚLÉE
4 egg yolks
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
2/3 cup lilikoi (passion fruit) purée
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons sugar
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place four 6-ounce ramekins on cookie sheet.
In medium bowl, whisk egg yolks. Add condensed milk and whisk again.
Add lilikoi purée and salt and whisk for 30 seconds or until purée appears to be incorporated. Let sit for several minutes until liquid thickens.
Divide crème among the ramekins. Place cookie sheet with ramekins into oven and cook 17 to 19 minutes. The crème will still be loose at the center but will firm as it cools. Let cool for at least 1 hour. Chill if you have time.
When ready to serve, sprinkle a teaspoon of sugar over top. Shift and turn ramekin to evenly disperse sugar. Place ramekins on cookie sheet, ceramic countertop or other inflammable surface. Turn on torch and touch flame to sugar, rotating ramekin to heat all the sugar, until the caramel darkens to desired color. Serves 4.
Approximate nutritional information, per serving: 430 calories, 13 g fat, 7 g saturated fat, 220 mg cholesterol, 220 mg sodium, 68 g carbohydrate, 4 g fiber, 63 g sugar, 11 g protein
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Mariko Jackson blogs about family and food at www.thelittlefoodie.com.
