Dessert · France, with English and Catalan cousins
Crème brûlée
Baked custard under a crackling lid of burnt sugar.
About the dish
Crème brûlée, burnt cream in French, is a baked custard of cream, egg yolks, sugar and usually vanilla, finished with a thin layer of caramelized sugar. France, England and Catalonia all have a claim to the idea: Cambridge has its burnt cream, and crema catalana is a stovetop custard flavored with citrus zest and cinnamon under a similar sugar crust.
The custard is made by pouring hot cream onto yolks and sugar while whisking, straining it, and baking it in shallow dishes set in a water bath at a low temperature. The water keeps the edges from overcooking while the center sets. It is done when the center still trembles slightly, then it is chilled for several hours.
Just before serving, a thin, even layer of sugar is spread over the cold custard and melted with a torch or under a very hot broiler until it turns amber and hardens into glass. The pleasure is the contrast: sweet, rich, cold custard under a warm, crackling lid with a faintly bitter caramel edge.
Written from general cooking knowledge, as background on a dish from the game’s recipe book. It is not a tested recipe.
The flavors it leans on
Crème brûlée in Night Kitchen
In the game, Crème brûlée is a dessert in the recipe book. A plate is named Crème brûlée when it holds these cards and is cooked with exactly these techniques, with at most one extra ingredient.
Ingredients
- Heavy cream
- Eggs
- Brown sugar
Techniques
- Bake
- Caramelize
How those cards taste
Cooked from just these cards for an average ticket, before tonight’s mood and quirks, it would please Theo (2 stars) and Gus (2 stars) most.
“A baked custard with a sheet of burnt sugar on top. I judge every kitchen by the sound of the spoon.”
More desserts
- Panna cottaPiedmont, northern ItalySweetened cream set softly and served cold.
- Tarte tatinLamotte-Beuvron, FranceApples caramelized in the pan, baked under pastry and turned out upside down.
- PavlovaAustralia and New ZealandA crisp, soft-centered meringue piled with cream and berries.
- Rice puddingMany kitchens worldwideRice simmered slowly in sweet milk.
- FlanSpain, Latin America and the PhilippinesBaked milk custard turned out in its own caramel.
- Sticky toffee puddingEnglandA date sponge soaked in toffee sauce.
- Lemon possetEnglandCream boiled with sugar and set by lemon juice alone, served cold.