Does Julia Child's Crème Brûlée work?

Question

In "Mastering the Art of French Cooking", Julia et al. explain that Crème Brûlée is simply Crème Anglaise (Light Custard Sauce) made with whipping cream instead of milk, half the amount of sugar and then chilled.

I made a couple of attempts but it didn't set. Here's a shortened version of the recipe:

1/4 cup sugar 4 yolks 1 tsp cornstarch or potato starch (optional, but I went with the potato starch) 1 3/4 cup boiling whipping cream

Beat sugar into the yolks until they reach the "ribbon" stage. Beat in the optional starch. Pour the boiling milk in a stream of droplets into the yolks whilst beating. Set the mixture over a moderate heat, stirring slowly and continuously until the sauce thickens enough to coat the spoon with a light creamy layer. During this time the mixture should not go above 165 degrees F (without starch) or 170 degrees (with). I also added an optional tablespoon of orange liqueur for flavour.

I beat the mixture at just under 170 degrees for around 30 minutes without it thickening up much. On the second attempt I used more starch (about a tablespoon) and it thickened up, but still didn't set after chilling overnight. Any ideas?

Asked by Chris Steinbach

Answer

Most creme brulees require baking, however after a little research I did find a recipe in "On Cooking" (Sarah Labensky/Michael Hause) that came from Chef Vincent Guerithault of Vincent on Camelback in Phoenix, AZ and his was similar in that it was not baked.

First, just making creme anglaise with heavy cream isn't going to do anything to let it set up into a firm custard. More egg yolks or starch would be needed.

Supposing that this really does work and it was something you perhaps did, my guess would be that it was either mixed too much (breaking down the proteins trying to link together) or too vigorously (incorporating air which weakened the protein links). In your description you say you "beat it". Did you beat it or stir it? It should be stirred back and forth zig-zagging across the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon or heat-safe rubber spatula to keep from whipping air into it.

Time, temperature, and eggs/dairy ratio are going to be the main issues in getting custards to set.

Egg proteins begin to set at 160 degrees but curdle at 180 so there's very little "wiggle" room temperature wise.

According to Shirley Corriher's "Cookwise": 2 egg yolks will just barely thicken 1 cup of milk or cream. Her Creme Anglaise recipe uses 5 egg yolks to 1 cup of milk and 1/2 cup heavy cream which is more yolks and less liquid than Julia's and this isn't intended to set up. 1 teaspoon of starch isn't going to provide the thickening power that is needed, it's there to keep the yolks from curdling as easily.

The recipe I use and many others I've referenced (including Chef Vincent's), use a ratio of about 6-7 yolks per cup of cream.

Also, if using a starch, you need to nearly bring the custard mixture to a boil (as is common in puddings and cream pie fillings) otherwise an enzyme in egg yolks known as alpha-amylase will eat away at the starch bonds and break them down into a watery mess. Chef Vincent's does not use any starch.

If you want to use that recipe, I would increase it to 10 egg yolks. After the hot cream is tempered into the egg yolks then return to the heat and cook, stirring constantly, until very thick but do not let it boil. Remove it from the heat and strain into a clean metal bowl and chill over an ice bath to cool quickly. Once cool, spoon into your desired serving dish or a cookie cup and caramelize the top with sugar.

Answered by Darin Sehnert

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Can I make Crème Brûlée using a flambé?

Question

I've made Crème Caramel/Crème Brûlée several times and don't have too much trouble with it. I'll be making them for company this weekend and thought it would make for a nice spectacle to flambé them. But, I don't have a lot of experience in that technique, and I'd like to make sure that I'm not going to set the entire dining room on fire by accident.

Has anyone attempted (successfully, preferably) to caramelize the sugar in a Crème Brûlée by flambéing the surface as opposed to simply heating it with a torch? And if so, what exactly was involved?

• How much alcohol would be required for a single standard ramekin?
• Can it be done safely right inside the ramekin?
• Can I light it with a quick touch of the torch, or should I use a match instead?
• Could this have negative effects - i.e. ruining the flavour or melting the gelatinzed cream?
• How long should I expect it to burn for and how long would it be necessary to wait before eating?
• Do some types of alcohol work better for this than others? (I'm leaning toward brandy)
• Anything else I should know or any other precautions I should take?

Basically I'd like to know everything I possibly can about the flambé technique as it would relate specifically to Crème Brûlée before actually attempting it.

Asked by Aaronut

Answer

The final word!

After a few hours of experimenting today, this is what I discovered:

• No "standard" alcohol burns hot enough to caramelize the sugar using a reasonable small amount (i.e. less than 1 tbsp).

• Since there's an open flame, it will probably eventually caramelize the sugar, but the amount of alcohol required to burn that long makes the straightforward flambé method totally impractical for individual Crème Brûlées (the way that they're supposed to be served). Testing with vanilla pudding as per Michael's suggestion using a very thin layer of sugar on top, even if you drown the entire ramekin in 80-proof alcohol, the sugar will simply dissolve before it caramelizes.

• roux came up with a very good suggestion in a comment - caramelize the sugar separately and let it harden, then grind it into a powder and flambé that. The only slight problem with this is that it grinds into the consistency of dust almost instantly, and as soon as you pour any alcohol over it, it will dissolve.

So here's how I actually (successfully) did it:

1. Caramelize the sugar about an hour in advance. Pour off and let it harden. Roux recommended using a silpat but it's perfectly possible to just dump it into a heatproof container. If using a container, then as soon as it hardens, crack it with a knife in 2 or 3 places and let it sit for another 10-15 minutes; the cracks will spread and eventually it will "shatter" into large chunks which are easily removed.

2. Grind the hardened sugar using a spice grinder. As stated above, it will take on the consistency of confectioner's sugar (beware, it is very dusty, you might want to turn the range fan on while you scoop it out of the spice grinder). Place it in a separate (preferably wide) container.

3. Over time the ground sugar will actually start to crystallize again, which is why I wrote above to do this about an hour in advance. You're aiming for a consistency that is sticky and somewhat hard but still easy to shape with your hands.

4. Spread a thin layer of the semi-hard sugar on each Crème Brûlée - not too thin, though, you don't want this to dissolve instantly, so aim for at least a few (2-3) mm. It should be pretty easy to "mold" the sugar into shape.

5. Heat some cognac or other strong alcohol in a separate saucepan. The amount depends on how many Crème Brûlées you're preparing, but you won't need more than a tablespoon per brûlée. You need to get the alcohol hot if you want it to really burn when lit, but don't let it boil, otherwise it won't ignite. This is standard flambé stuff but I'm putting it here for reference. Personally, I let it heat up until I see a little bit of steam (but before any simmering).

6. Don't pour the hot alcohol into the Crème Brûlées yet. Instead, take the saucepan off the heat and light the alcohol by itself inside the saucepan. You should probably do this using a barbecue lighter, although I had no trouble using a butane torch. Don't worry, it won't erupt in a massive fireball, but the saucepan will heat up very quickly so you might want to hold it with an oven mitt.

7. Pour a small amount of the flaming alcohol into each Crème Brûlée, and work quickly otherwise all the alcohol will burn off. It will melt the already-caramelized sugar very quickly.

8. Allow all of the remaining alcohol to burn off until the flames disappear, then let it cool for at least 5 minutes. Once the sugar begins to harden again, it will form a perfect crust!

Answered by Aaronut

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Which kind of cream do I use for creme brulee?

Question

I'm following this recipe to make cream brulee: http://www.masterchef.com.au/creme-brulee.htm

I'm a little confused over the correct type of cream to use. They list "thickened cream" but because this mixure will be heated, should I be using "cooking thickened cream", and is it possible to use a light version of the cream, or will this alter the cooking process?

Answer

What you want is cream with 35%-40% milkfat, and no gelatine or other stabilizers for whipping. If you use a lighter cream, then it will not have the rich, creamy texture, and evenly thick consistency you seek. In fact, if you use a light enough cream, it will not thicken properly.

Now we enter the murky realm of regional naming differences, trying to find the appropriate kind of cream!

In Australia, this would be called pure cream (35-56% milkfat)... which might be the same as "cooking thickened cream." Read the label and make sure it is just cream, not gelatin or foam stabilizers like "thickened cream". It could also be labelled "single cream" too (~35% milkfat).

In America, we call it heavy cream, or heavy whipping cream, and it is defined as 35%+ milkfat, and is generally around 38%.

In the UK, a recipe I found the uses a mixture of milk and "double cream" (cream with 48%+ milkfat). They mix 100 mL whole fat milk + 426 mL of double cream. The final milkfat content is somewhere around 40%.

In the rest of the EU, the same procedure appears to be the best bet, since I can't find clear names for heavier creams besides double cream (which appears to be the same as the UK).

Edit: You may also be able to get a good result using straight double cream. I'm looking at a French recipe that uses it. The catch is, of course, that while the minimum fat content is specified, actual fat content in double cream can vary considerably, potentially giving erratic results.

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