LIVE, LOVE, & EAT IN SAYULITA: A Recipe for Créme Brûlée

LIVE, LOVE, & EAT IN SAYULITA: A Recipe for Créme Brûlée

Bringing to you the best Créme Brûlée you will ever eat! I love Créme Brûlée! Do you love it as much as I do? Please make my recipe and I know that it will be your new “BEST“ recipe to impress your friends at Sayulita dinner parties and get-togethers. A few years ago one of my daughters was getting married and I offered to make her favorite dessert … Créme Brûlée for 50! 

So, I bought 50 individual-sized ramekins and began to research recipes. Of course, I found the perfect one… 4 simple ingredients and I am happy to say that everyone at the wedding kept saying “this is the creamiest and best Créme Brûlée that I have ever tasted”. One of my son-in-laws is a professional chef, so when he said the same, I knew it was true! I tried this recipe back in 2016. This is a better version with the increase in ingredient amounts.

Many of Sayulita’s tiendas sell Lyncott’s crema para batir.. Whipping cream … and of course, Mexico always has eggs, sugar, and wonderful pure vanilla (which can be found at local tiendas like Alas Blancas)

If you do not have a regular oven but have a toaster oven, you can still make this wonderful dessert.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 400 ml crema para batir

  • 4 egg yolks

  • 1&1/3 Tablespoons granulated sugar as fine as you can find

*if you have a food processor, you can make a container of finely ground granulated sugar

  • 1 vanilla bean pod or 1-3 tsp pure vanilla extract to taste

  • White sugar for brûlée topping

  • Kitchen torch for Brûlée 

*If you do not have a torch, you can use the broil setting on your oven

METHOD:

Preheat oven to 300

1. Bring the cream and scraped seeds and pod of vanilla bean to almost a boil over medium-low heat

2. Add the yolks and sugar to a medium heat-proof bowl and stir until just combined

3. Pour heated cream in the slow stream, whisking gently as you pour

Add just a bit to temper* & then you can add in remainder a bit faster

*If you add hot milk quickly to egg yolks the hot milk will cook the eggs

Dribble in ½ of milk very slowly whisking lightly while adding. Because the mix has now adjusted to hot milk, you can add the remainder.

4. Use a torch to quickly remove any bubbles. If you do not have a torch, tap the mixture lightly on the counter and then burst any big bubbles with the tip of a knife

5. Place the empty ramekins into the pan on top of the cloth and using a very fine mesh strainer, strain into ramekins, and check for bubbles again

6. Add COLD water to water bat, being very careful to not get any water into ramekins.

Use an 8×8 cake pan lined on the bottom with a towel to prevent ramekins from moving around

I like to use a bathing washcloth because it fits the pan so well. It’s easiest if you cut it to fit inside your 8×8 pan and dedicate it as your Créme Brûlée pan cloth.

7. Bake 30 min or until still wobbly. Check at 30 min and then again at 35 min.

DO NOT OVERBAKE

8. Remove ramekins from the water bath as soon as they come out of the oven. Do this very carefully. I like to use kitchen tongs and carefully sit ramekins on the cooling rack.

When cool, cover the tops with plastic wrap, being sure that the wrap totally touches the top of the custard. Make sure that there are no air pockets that could gather moisture. Poke a few small holes in placed plastic wrap to release any trapped moisture.

Chill in the fridge until cold. You can make these up to 5 days ahead of time if you would like

When ready to serve, remove plastic wrap and sprinkle tops of chilled custard with granulated sugar. Be certain that the total surface is covered.

Using a kitchen torch, melt the sugar until a golden color is reached

Serve! 

If you have any questions or comments please go to my web page, LIVE, LOVE & EAT in SAYULITA. I LOVE hearing from you!

Submitted by Karina Shecter

Edited by Amy Rose Pearson