Best Paul Bocuses Creme Brulee Recipes

PAUL BOCUSE'S CREME BRULEE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 275ºF. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks with half of the granulated sugar. In a small saucepan, warm the cream with the vanilla scrapings and the remaining granulated sugar until steaming. Gradually whisk the hot cream into the egg yolks until blended. Strain the custard and pour it into 5-ounce ramekins or shallow gratin dishes.
• Set the ramekins in a small baking dish and add enough hot tap water to the dish to reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until just set. Let cool in the water bath for 10 minutes, them remove and let cool completely. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
• Preheat the broiler. Sift a thin even layer of the air-dried brown sugar over each custard. Broil 1 ramekin at a time as close as possible to the heat source, until the sugar melts, forming a caramelized crust. Serve immediately.
• Notes: To air dry brown sugar, sift it onto a plate and leave it out, uncovered, for 1 day. If it's humid, the sifted sugar can also be dried in a 250ºF oven for 20 minutes.

PERFECT CREME BRULEE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300°F.
• In a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat cream and 2 tbls sugar until just hot (small bubbles will form around the edge and a bit of steam will be released when cream is stirred).
• While cream is heating, separate two eggs, reserving the whites for another use (or discarding). Put the yolks in a bowl.
• Whisk in vanilla bean paste. This paste, made by Nielsen-Massey Vanillas and available in many upscale culinary shops and some spice shops, is a godsend and no cook who uses vanilla should be without it. If you don't have this paste, split one plump, long vanilla bean and scrape out the bean seeds inside. If you're particularly fond of vanilla, you may also add a scant amount of pure vanilla extract, but no more than 1/2 teaspoon.
• Add hot cream to egg yolk mixture and whisk thoroughly.
• Pour evenly into four creme brulee dishes.
• Place the creme brulee dishes in a suitably sized pan and add enough hot water (the hotter, the better) to reach about halfway up the sides of the dishes.
• Cover loosely with a piece of aluminum foil (do not seal, just place on the dishes).
• Bake for 25-27 minutes or until custard is just set.
• Let cool on countertop for about 10 minutes or so, then chill creme brulees in the refrigerator for a minimum of 3-4 hours. Wrapping tightly with plastic is not recommended because water will condense on underside of wrap and drip on the custard when removed.
• Immediately prior to serving, sprinkle a thin layer of sugar (about 1/16th inch deep) evenly over the custard. If any water puddles are present on the surface of the custard, absorb them carefully with a paper towel before sprinkling with sugar.
• Using (preferably) a creme brulee kitchen torch, caramelize the sugar using continuous movements with the flame. The sugar must not be scorched, which is easy to do if you let the flame linger in one location. Use as hot and large a flame as practicable so you can caramelize the sugar in short order and not "melt" the custard underneath.
• If you don't have a torch, a broiler can melt and caramelize the sugar, but this is not at all the preferred method. Careful attention should be paid while broiling and the dishes should be very close to the heat source.
• Once the sugar is caramelized, let cool briefly and serve. The crust should be glasslike and hard. Do not garnish with berries or chocolate kisses or mint leaves or whipped cream or any such nonsense. In my opinion, doing so detracts from the elegant simplicity of this classic dessert.

PAUL BOCUSE'S CREME BRULEE

Steps:

• 1. Preheat the oven to 275ºF. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks with half of the granulated sugar. In a small saucepan, warm the cream with the vanilla scrapings and the remaining granulated sugar until steaming. Gradually whisk the hot cream into the egg yolks until blended. Strain the custard and pour it into 5-ounce ramekins or shallow gratin dishes.
• 2. Set the ramekins in a small baking dish and add enough hot tap water to the dish to reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until just set. Let cool in the water bath for 10 minutes, then remove and let cool completely. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
• 3. Preheat the broiler. Sift a thin even layer of the air-dried brown sugar over each custard. Broil 1 ramekin at a time as close as possible to the heat source, until the sugar melts, forming a caramelized crust. Serve immediately.
• 4. To air dry brown sugar, sift it onto a plate and leave it out, uncovered, for 1 day. If it's humid, the sifted sugar can also be dried in a 250ºF oven for 20 minutes.

PEACH CREME BRULEE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Heat the cream in a sauce pan. Stir occasionally to keep skin from forming. Just before it is boiling, remove from heat and add vanilla.
• Meanwhile, cream egg yolks and sugar in a bowl. Try not to incorporate any air into the mix. I find that a fork works well for this small amount -- a whisk is too big.
• SLOWLY drizzle cream into eggs, continuing to mix with the fork. If you pour too quickly you will cook the egg. Again, try not to incorporate any air as you mix.
• Drain the peaches and place peach slices in the bottom of each ramekin. Then pour the custard on top of the peaches. You want to have enough custard that the peaches are completely covered. Narrower, taller ramekins work better than wider, shorter ones.
• Place ramekins in a baking tray or roasting pan, then pour water into the pan (don't splash into the custard) so that it comes halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Carefully place in the oven (don't splash into the custard) and bake about 30 minutes. Custard is done when it is set but still jiggles.
• Remove from the oven, and remove from the water bath. Allow to cool completely. Then cover with plastic wrap and chill for a couple hours in the fridge. You can store like this for several days if you like.
• Just before serving, sprinkle a thin layer of brown sugar on top of each custard and use a kitchen torch (or your oven's broiler) to melt and caramelize the sugar. Try not to burn it. If you are using the broiler, be careful, it burns very quickly. Don't take your eyes off of it!

THE BEST CREME BRULEE

Steps:

• Arrange a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 300 degrees F. Line a large heavy roasting pan (a turkey roasting pan works great) with a clean kitchen towel and place 4 six-ounce ramekins on top of the towel spaced a few inches apart.
• Heat the cream in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Using the back of a paring knife, scrape the vanilla seeds from both halves of the pod. Add the seeds and pod to the cream. Whisk in the salt and 3 tablespoons of the sugar and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat.
• Vigorously whisk the yolks and 3 more tablespoons of the sugar in a large bowl until pale yellow and very thick and creamy, about 2 minutes. Alternatively, you can use an electric mixer on high speed and beat until pale yellow and very thick and creamy, about 1 minute.
• Whisking the yolks constantly, add a couple of teaspoons at a time from 1 cup of the hot cream, then increase to a steady stream until the cream is fully incorporated. (Don't pour too much hot cream at once or you'll end up with scrambled eggs.) The yolks are now tempered. Whisk the tempered yolks back into the remaining hot cream until combined. Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a large measuring cup or medium pitcher for easier pouring; discard the vanilla pods.
• Skim the foam off the top of the custard by placing a clean paper towel on top and lightly pressing down so it touches the surface and absorbs some of the liquid. This will make for a completely smooth and silky custard. Fill the ramekins with the custard, about 3/4 cup per ramekin.
• Carefully pour boiling water into the roasting pan halfway up the sides of the ramekins without getting any water in the custard. Cover the pan tightly with foil and bake until the custard is set around the edges but still has a slight jiggle in the center, 35 to 45 minutes. Carefully remove the roasting pan from the oven and transfer the ramekins to a wire rack to cool for 30 minutes. Then refrigerate until very cold, about 3 hours.
• Just before serving, evenly spread 1 tablespoon of the sugar over the top of a custard. Hold a kitchen torch 2 inches above the surface. Starting in the center of the ramekin, move the flame in a circular motion and work your way out to the edges to caramelize the sugar. Repeat with the remaining sugar and custards.
• Alternatively, arrange a rack in the top position of the oven and heat the broiler on high. Place the ramekins on a rack set inside a baking sheet and broil until deep golden brown, 15 to 60 seconds, checking every 10 seconds.
• Freeze the custards for 5 minutes before serving (see Cook's Note).

BAKED OATMEAL CREME BRULEE STYLE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees.
• Lightly oil a 9 x 13 baking dish.
• In a large bowl, combine dry mix.
• In a medium mixing bowl, whisk wet mix well.
• Add wet mix to dry mix, stirring well.
• Pour mixture into prepared dish.
• Bake 40- 45 minutes- centre will be jiggly.
• Remove pan from oven, place pan on a cooling rack.
• Hand sprinkle brown sugar over top of oatmeal.
• Return pan to oven, bake until sugar melts, 2- 3 minutes.
• Remove pan to cooling rack.
• Set oven to broil.
• Set pan under broiler 3 inches from heat till sugar bubbles and browns slightly, 1- 2 minutes (watch carefully for burning, turn pan if needed).
• Remove pan from broiler and spoon mixture into serving bowls.

CREME BRULEE FOR TWO

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
• Heat heavy cream and 1/4 cup sugar over high heat until little bubbles form around the edges. Remove from heat.
• Whisk egg yolks and vanilla in a bowl, then add a tiny bit of cream mixture while whisking.
• Continue adding cream mixture bit by bit until gone. You don't want to add the hot cream mixture all at once because it'll cook the yolks.
• Pour into two creme brulee ramekins.
• Place ramekins in a baking dish with edges taller than the ramekins.
• Carefully pour enough water into the baking dish to halfway cover the sides of the ramekins. Be sure not to get water in the ramekins.
• Bake for 40 minutes.
• Carefully remove from oven and let cool.
• Remove ramekins from baking dish, cover with clear wrap, and refrigerate for at least 3-4 hours.
• When ready to serve, sprinkle 1/2 tablespoon of sugar evenly over each ramekin, and torch in slow, steady circles until sugar caramelizes.