Crème Brûlée, that French dessert of the gods, is one of my family's favorite indulgences. Prior to making it myself, our kids followed their father's example, salivating when a restaurant menu included this simple baked custard topped with a brittle layer of hardened caramel. To prepare crème brûlée at home, you need more than just the ingredients; you need individual ramekins and a blowtorch. Here is the story of how my kitchen was graced with these necessary accoutrements.

For many years, we have spent Christmas at our home in rural Montana. We take extra suitcases and bring the gifts along, to open on December 25th in front of a roaring fireplace, while snowflakes flurry past the windowpanes. Christmas 2008 was no exception. Larry and Lauren put their heads together and decided that I could not live without ramekins and a blowtorch for making crème brûlée. Before you cast judgement at the self-serving nature of this present, you must know that Larry is a most generous gift-giver; and as soon as Lauren was old enough to articulate an opinion, he would include her in selecting things for me. I have been showered with amazing gifts over the years, custom tailored to my interests and style. This year, however, those two had dessert on the brain. My packages on Christmas morning not only included a set of ramekins and a kitchen sized blowtorch, Lauren had printed several recipes for the "burnt cream" dessert, and had made sure that the frig and pantry were stocked with all the ingredients. 

According to my collection of recipes, the baked custard needed to be refrigerated for several hours, in order to properly "set". And the caramelized topping should be torched just before serving. Oh dang! There was no butane for the torch. It was 1:30 pm when we discovered our lack of fuel. Larry immediately got on the phone with all the grocery stores in our part of rural Montana, hoping for a Christmas Day miracle. The Country Market was open until 2 pm. Larry and Lauren threw on their coats and skidded down the mountain the six miles to the store. They returned triumphant, with the 6 inch canister of butane in hand. Nothing was going to stand between them and their dessert! If the recipe had said, "decorate with chocolate covered moose droppings," I feel certain they would have cornered a moose and demanded the necessary ingredient. 

That crème brûlée tasted wonderful, but did not fully "set" in the center. I have since discovered through much trial and error, (you know, for the sake of research), that the best results are with a shallow, broad ramekin, as opposed to more of a cup shape. I have tried baking the deeper ones for a longer period of time, but the edges overbake and the center never quite solidifies. 

The burnt cream now makes appearances at family celebrations:

I hope that I've whetted your appetite. No matter what the occasion, crème brûlée is the appropriate finale. My favorite recipe is from Ina Garten, also know as The Barefoot Contessa. I have tried others, but I keep returning to hers. She always manages to get things down to their simplest, delicious, form. This will make 6  6-ounce servings. 

Crème Brûlée

1 extra-large egg

4 extra-large egg yolks

1/2 c. white sugar, plus 6 Tbsp. for caramelizing

3 c. heavy cream

1 tsp. vanilla 

1 Tbsp. Grand Marnier, or other orange liqueur (this is fine to omit if you so prefer)

Using the paddle attachment on an electric mixer, combine the 4 egg yolks, 1 whole egg, and 1/2 cup of sugar on low speed. Be sure to scrap down the sides and bottom well with a spatula. Heat the heavy cream in a saucepan over low heat, until quite hot to the touch, but not boiling. With the mixer on the lowest speed, slowly add the hot cream to the egg mixture. Finally, add the vanilla and Grand Marnier. You want all the ingredients incorporated, but do not overbeat or have the mixer on a high speed. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve, as there is always a bit of undesirable egg mixture on the bottom of the bowl. Strain it into a pitcher for easier filling of the ramekins. 

Place the six shallow ramekins onto a 10 x 15 x 1 inch baking pan. Carefully fill the ramekins with the custard. Oh so carefully, place the baking pan on the middle rack of the oven, which has been preheated to 300 degrees. Without even daring to breathe, create a water bath by pour boiling water into the pan to come up halfway on the ramekins. Gently scoot the pan to the middle of the rack. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the custard is gently set. Touch the middle and it should jiggle just slightly. Remove from the oven. Immediately lift the ramekins out onto a cooling rack, using a large, sturdy spatula. Allow to cool to room temperature and then refrigerate, covered, for at least 2 hours or up to a day.

Just before serving, evenly sprinkle 1 Tbsp. of sugar on top of each custard. Using a kitchen torch, caramelize the sugar, hold the torch several inches away from the surface, slightly at an angle and constantly moving, until it is golden brown. Serve immediately, garnishing with berries if you desire. Being the youngest of seven kids and always seeking out the spotlight, I bring everything to the table and caramelize the tops in front of our guests; the oohs and ahhs are music to the ears.