White Chocolate Crème Brûlée

Crème Brûlée

Serves 6-8

3 egg yolks

1 egg (or 2-3 more yolks)

1 tbsp sugar

50 grams of white chocolate

2 cups cream

1/8 tsp vanilla

Melt the chocolate in a double-boiler and slowly mix in the cream until it is fully incorporated with the chocolate.  Add the vanilla.  Keep on the double-boiler until the cream is hot.

Add the yolks and the egg to a wide metal bowl.  Whisk with the tbsp of sugar.  When the cream is hot you will begin tempering the yolks, by adding the hot liquid a bit at a time to the eggs, constantly whisking until it is all incorporated.  The goal of tempering the eggs is to form a custard without cooking the yolks. 

Add the custard to some ramekins that you have placed in a large deep dish filled with enough water to come 2/3rds of the way up the ramekin.  This is your bain marie.  

Place the custard in an oven pre-heated to 325F for 20-30 minutes (actually cooking time will depend on the ramekins used).  When the custard is cooked, it should not jiggle in the ramekin.  Actually, it should jiggle a tiny bit in the centre of the ramekin and, if it doesn't, it's probably a bit over cooked.

Let the custard cool to room temperature before refrigerating for anywhere between 1-6 hours.

Remove from the fridge and toss granulated sugar on top.  Shake the ramekin so that the sugar evenly distributes and let sit for 1 min.  After a minute shake off any excess sugar.

Use a kitchen torch in one first pass to melt the sugar.

In the 2nd pass with the torch, allow it to linger briefly in spots to slightly burn the sugar.  This is aesthetic, but also a key part of the flavour profile.

Garnish I used strawberries macerated in a 10 year balsamic vinegar and shaved dark chocolate.

Troubleshooting -- My custard looks like scrambled eggs:  You added the hot liquid too quickly

Troubleshooting -- My custard is super foamy:  You probably used the whole egg and not the additional yolks and then you probably whisked too hard.  You can always use the kitchen torch before the sugar is added to eliminate some of the bubbles, but be careful not to burn the eggs before they cook.