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Vanilla Beans Drying
Buy This at Allposters.com
La Belle Cuisine
Vanilla Crème Brûlée
Desserts
by Nancy Silverton, 1986, Harper & Row
 
7 egg yolks
6 tablespoons granulated sugar or
3 ounces chopped maple sugar
3 cups heavy cream
2 vanilla beans, split and scraped
In a large heatproof bowl set over gently simmering water,
whisk the egg
yolks and sugar vigorously until mixture thickens, forms a
ribbon when the whisk is lifted, and resembles a thick hollandaise sauce.
You may need to
take the bowl off the heat briefly a couple of times if the
mixture gets too
hot and starts to cook too quickly around the edges of the
bowl. Leave
the bowl over the heat most of the time, however, because it is
essential
that the egg yolks be warmed through at this point.
Meanwhile, scald the cream with the vanilla beans. Slowly whisk into
the
yolks. Cook over a pot of warm water for 40-45 minutes, stirring
occasionally, until the custard is slightly thickened. The heat must be
very
low – check the water from time to time to make sure it stays just
below
simmering. The custard should never be too hot to put your
[impeccably
clean] finger in comfortably.
The mixture is cooked when it is thick enough to heavily coat a finger
dipped into it and not to drip off. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer.
(When you dip you finger into the crème brûlée mixture, it should be
smooth.
If there are any white dots in it, showing curdling, remove the
vanilla
beans and process the mixture briefly in a food processor
before
continuing.)
Caramelizing a Dessert
Caramelizing the top of a custard dessert gives it a
marvelous, translucent, golden-brown layer of crunchy caramel that cracks
when broken with a
fork. Caramelized sugar adds texture to a custard, and
when used on fruit, gives it a shiny glazed look/ To caramelize, a layer of
sugar is sprinkled on
a dessert and then melted under very high direct heat,
either under a broiler
or with a propane torch. Restaurant-style salamander
broilers are perfect. Most home oven broilers will work on something solid,
like a fruit tart,
broiled apple slices, or an oven-baked custard, but they
won’t get hot
enough to caramelize sugar on a soft custard, such as the
crème brûlées. When the broiler is not hot enough, the sugar will liquefy
rather than brown.
One of my favorite tools is the propane torch, which is the fastest and most
effective way to caramelize anything. Available in hardware stores at very
reasonable prices (compared to a number of other kitchen gadgets), torches
may seem a bit frightening at first, but they’re perfectly safe when used
carefully. Their direct, powerful flame is not only enough to caramelize
perfectly, but it is so localized that there is never any danger of burning
the edge of a tart shell, as you can caramelizing under a broiler. A good
torch should have a steady flame; if it sputters or goes out when tilted, it
is faulty.
To caramelize with the torch, sprinkle the top of the dessert with a thin,
even layer of granulated or powdered sugar. Turn the torch on low, light
with a match, and adjust the flame to high. Sweep the torch evenly from
side
to side, stopping just long enough in one place to allow the flame to
brown
the sugar. If the sugar starts to bubble and burn, just blow it out.
Don’t caramelize the dessert more than 30 minutes before serving or the
caramel will lost its crispness.
(A torch is also very useful for unmolding refrigerated or frozen desserts,
much easier to use than hot towels. For molded desserts, invert the mold
onto
a cardboard or a platter and heat the bottom and sides briefly with the
torch.
Shake out. With flan rings, simply heat the sides of the ring and
remove.)
Featured Archive Recipes:
Classic Crème Brûlée
(Jacques Torres)
Crème Anglaise
Pastry Cream
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