Absolutely amazing what a little cream, a little sugar and couple of eggs can turn into…. Perfect restaurant quality dessert. A rich custard topped with a hard layer of caramel. This Vanilla creme brulee is very easy to make if you follow all the steps correctly.
It will perfectly complete your cafe gourmand if the crème brûlée is served in small ramekins.
Look at this short video ! 🙂
Vanilla Crème brûlée
Ingredients
- 8 egg yolks
- 120 g granulated sugar
- 1/2 vanilla bean
- 640 ml whipping cream
- 6 tsp granulated sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Split the vanilla bean in half and scrape the seeds into the cream. In a medium bowl, combine together sugar, eggs yolks, vanilla and whisk.
- Add the cream a little at a time and stir. Remove the scum with a tea spoon.
- Strain the mixture through a fine sieve and pour it into the ramekins. Divide cream mixture among ramekins (about 6 ramekins).
- Arrange the ramekins in a baking pan with deep sides. And carefully pour water around ramekins so that the water level must reach about 2/3 of the ramekins.
- Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes. You will know its ready when the custard is wobbly and jiggle from side to side when nudged (it looks like jello).
- Remove the custard from the water bath and let cool completely, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 6 hours (overnight).
- Before serving, cover each cold creme brulee evenly with sugar (1 tsp). Caramelize using a propane torch. If you don’t have one propane torch, use the broiler: put the oven rack about 6 inches away from the broiler. Place the custards on the baking sheet and broil for about 3-5 minutes, or until sugar bubbles and turns golden brown. (Keep a close eye on them, they can burn quickly)
Notes
Creamy Vanilla And Chocolate Jelly
Creamy Vanilla And Chocolate Jelly is a very light and airy dessert, with a touch of sweetness. Who wouldn’t love chocolate and vanilla goodness in a cup? I always try to limit myself. This dessert is so simple to make and a great way to end a special dinner. It can be done the day before.
Creamy Vanilla And Chocolate Jelly
Ingredients
Vanilla layer
- 1/2 cup water cold
- 3 packs Knox original gelatin unflavored
- 500 ml heavy whipping cream
- 500 ml whole milk
- 8 Tbsp sugar
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
Chocolate layer
- 60 ml whole milk
- 3 Tbsp water cold
- 1/2 pack Knox original gelatin unflavored
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 1 Tbsp cacao powder
Instructions
Vanilla layer
- In a small bowl, sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup of cold water. Let stand for 5 minutes.
- In a large saucepan, bring milk, heavy whipping cream, vanilla extract and sugar to a simmer, stirring constantly, until sugar is dissolved.
- Add gelatin mixture and stir until dissolved. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Let it cool for 5 minutes, strain through a fine sieve.
- Divide the mixture between 12 small glasses and place them in the fridge until firm (2-3 hours).
Chocolate layer
- In a small saucepan, add milk and water. Sprinkle gelatin on top and set aside for 3 minutes. Add cacao powder and sugar, mix well.
- Place over medium heat and heat until barely boiling, stirring constantly.
- Remove from the heat and strain through a fine sieve. Let the mix cool down.
- Remove the glasses from the refrigerator and pour the chocolate mixture on top of the vanilla jelly.
- Refrigerate for 2 more hours.
Petits Choux
This is one of my favorite puff pastry for a “cafe gourmand“.
Petits choux
Ingredients
Ingredients for the choux pastry
- 200 ml water
- 100 g butter
- 2 pinches of salt
- 120 g flour
- 3-4 eggs
Ingredients for the cream
- 1 egg yolk
- 120 g sugar
- 125 ml milk
- 1/2 vanilla bean cut into two in its length
- 200 g softened butter
- 1 tbsp icing sugar
Instructions
For the choux pastry
- Preheat the oven to 200°C (thermostat 6/7). Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a saucepan, put the butter and salt. Bring to a boil. When the butter is completely melted, remove the pan from the heat.
- Add flour and mix well.
- The dough should form a ball.
- Add the eggs one by one. Mix well.
- The dough should be smooth and not stick to the edges of the pan.
- Using a spoon or a pastry bag, form small heaps of dough on the baking sheet, separating them from each other as the puffs will double in size during cooking.
- Bake at 200°C for 10-15 minutes. Then lower the temperature to 180°C (thermostat 6) and cook for another 10 minutes or so until you get a nice golden color. Remove the puffs from the oven and let cool.
For the cream
- In a small saucepan, blanch the egg with the sugar.
- Add milk and vanilla. Place over very low heat. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil. Remove from heat and let cool. Remove the vanilla pod.
- In the bowl of a mixer, cream the butter. While continuing to mix, gradually incorporate the milk and sugar preparation.
- Make an incision in the choux. Using a teaspoon or a pastry bag, fill them with the cream. Sprinkle with icing sugar.