For 6 servings (you will need six ramekins, or something about the same
size and shape)
Pre heat oven at 300c.
6 egg yolks - 120grams of sugar - 600ml of whipping cream.
Mix the 6 yolks with the sugar and beat until you have a homogeneous mix that turns beige.
Add the cream, and mix until homogeneous.
Pour in the ramekins
Put each ramekin in a larger dish containing water (the water should reach 1/2 to 3/4 of the ramekin). For the guys, that’s called a bain-marie…in case you want to impress a lady.
Put all of this in the oven and cook for 1h15 to 1h20.
Remove from oven and place the ramekin in the fridge for 2hrs.
Before serving, you need to do the caramel topping:
Pour a thin layer of white sugar on the surface and use one of these: http://www.kookit.com/img/prod/p/27_99901_p.jpg on the surface’s sugar until it turns brown and caramelizes. You can also use a small welding tool. Works just as fine (that’s what I used).
A note concerning substitutions: Do not attempt to caramelize Splenda for the topping. Splenda does not caramelize. Rather, it catches on fire, flies up and singes your eyebrows.
Wait a sec - was I supposed to have posted this in the “embarrassing accidents” thread instead?
Another thing I’ve discovered about this dessert is that it’s a good idea to let the ramekins cool a little bit after caramelizing the topping before attempting to touch them. Burned the crap out of my fingertips once 'cause I wasn’t thinking, which makes this the most injury-prone dessert in my repertoire. Given that I like desserts that you light on fire, though (crepes Suzette, bananas Foster, etc.), this could quite possibly change on short notice.
Two other miscellaneous thoughts on these desserts:
When you’re making bananas Foster, you can get a cool special effect by dropping some brown sugar in the flame. (Orange sparklies.)
I generally also make meringues whenever I make creme brulee. Good way to make use of the leftover egg whites.
For best results, use turbinado sugar rather than white sugar…and if you like, you can add a bit of vanilla to the custard mixture prior to baking. A tsp is plenty. The custard is done when your can insert a knife blade and have it come out clean.
It’s easy to use too much sugar and you can end up with a nearly impenetrable topping. What I’ve found works best is to dump a couple of Tbs of sugar on top, then simple roll the custard dish in your hands until the sugar evenly and lightly coats the surface of the custard. Dump the remaining sugar into the next custard (assuming individual servings) and repeat until finished. Discard any remaining sugar.
For those not interested in purchasing a specialty torch, you can use any butane torch that might be out in the garage, or a minute or two under the broiler will do the trick. Very quick though, you don’t want to heat the custard, just carmalize the sugar.
Here’s an easy one that - believe it or not - I actually used to make when I worked in a hotel and we would always get rave reviews. Talk about easy.
Macerate some raspberries by adding a little sugar and letting them sit for about 30-60 minutes.
Make a tasty tart dough - or if you’re running short on time, buy some pillsbury pie crust (the later I never did in the hotel but have done at home in a pinch).
Roll out tart/pie dough into a thin sheet and cut into large circles - I like to use salad plates to get the right size though you could probably make this any size you wanted.
Put some raspberries in the center of each dough circle. Then take some very high-quality semi-sweet chocolate that you’ve roughly chopped and add them to the raspberry mixture. Add as much chocolate as you see fit. Or for those of you chocoholics, add in a few raspberries to your chocolate.
Wrap the dough edges up “peasant style” - similar to a crostada. Brush edges of dough with a little bit of egg wash or milk and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.
Throw in the oven at 325degrees until the dough appears to be cooked. Serve immediately. This makes a great summertime dessert because it’s not too heavy and raspberries are plentiful.
I experimented a bit for Christmas and here is what I came up with.
Preheat oven on bake to 325F 5" French pastry dough cut in squares (one per person) Chicken breast cut into fingers then cooked in a frying pan with a little olive oil and cayenne pepper. After dice them. Cut sour apples into small squares Lightly spray backing pan with Pam (I use the olive oil Pam) or you could lightly coat the pan with olive oil or oil of choice Lightly heat some sour cherry jam - the middle eastern variety that is thick and has pitted cherries in it. I do it in the microwave but watch it closely Place a square on the pan and then put the following into the center of the pastry - try to keep the ingredients tight to the center by stacking them Place a little of the chicken (around a table spoon) and some apple (around the same amount as the chicken) Pour a little sour jelly jam on top - make sure to include a cherry or two from the jam sprinkle feta cheese on top Pull the opposing corners of the pastry together and press them so they stick (it helps them stick if your hands are clean) Pull the other opposing corners together Start over at #7 if you want more - leave a couple inches of room between them because they expand when cooked Bake for around 40 minutes or until they puff up and are slightly golden (think croissant) and pull out and let cool While backing prep plates by drawing a design with chocolate syrup and then with some of the jam (you may need to heat it again for it to be thin enough) add a couple of the cherries around the plate When pastries are cooled, place them in an interesting location on the plate (center works) and put a little chocolate and cherry syrup on top of them in a decorative way Eat and enjoy
Don’t tell anyone about the chicken in them until they have had it (unless they don’t eat chicken) and watch how surprised they will be when you tell them.
