Crème Brûlée

Currently, the Taste of Yaletown is going on in Vancouver. For those who don't know, Taste of Yaletown is similar to Dine Out Vancouver except that only Yaletown restaurants participate. Each participating restaurant features a price-fixed menu that is either $25, $35, or $45 depending on the caliber. Your meal includes a choice of appetizer, entree, and dessert. Usually each restaurant will feature two or three options for each category, though sometimes the dessert comes with only one choice. I highly recommend trying out one of the participating restaurants, especially with a group of two or three. That way, you can each order a different item and try it all.

My friend and I decided to partake in Taste of Yaletown and thus we went out last Friday night to one of the restaurants. Unfortunately, neither she nor I were impressed with the restaurant we chose. Originally we had picked the restaurant because the menu sounded delicious and each course had multiple options to choose from. However, once we sat down to eat we both found that the food was extremely salty across the board. The food was left on our plates hardly touched, which was unfortunate because it looked so good. 

Despite the salty appetizers and entrees, the desserts we ordered were quite delicious and the plates were left completely empty afterward. My friend ordered a lovely apple tart with rum raisin gelato, while I ordered a vanilla bean crème brûlée. The crème brûlée was silky smooth with a lovely caramelized sugar on top...prepared perfectly. After the meal, I was inspired to try and recreate my dessert and searched online for an easy crème brûlée recipe. It turns out that it is actually an extremely easy dessert to make, causing me to wonder why I haven't done it sooner. In the end, although our dining experience was not the best, I had a good time with my friend and also learned a valuable lesson...less is definitely more when it comes to salt!

Crème Brûlée

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 6 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
• 1 tsp vanilla

1. In a small saucepan combine the heavy cream and vanilla and heat until little bubbles begin to form.
2. Meanwhile, whisk together the eggs yolks and sugar.
3. Once the cream is heated, slowly add the cream to the yolk and sugar mixture, whisking constantly. Make sure that you don't try to rush this because otherwise you could risk cooking your eggs when the hot cream hits them, causing you to have a sweet omelet instead of a creamy custard.
4. Pour the mixture through a sieve into a container with a spout. This will help get out any chunks, ensuring the smoothest possible custard, as well as make it easier to pour into the ramekins.
5. Evenly distribute the mixture amongst all of your ramekins. This is where it gets tricky; I used 10 4 oz. ramekins, maybe 5 oz. I don't know since the ramekins were unlabeled, but I also didn't fill them to the top. I believe that the recipe is good for 6 6 oz. ramekins if you fill them to the very top.
6. Place the filled ramekins in a baking dish and fill the dish with boiling water so that it goes up the sides of the ramekins and is about level with the custard. I actually do this once I put the pans in the oven so that I don't risk spilling boiling water while I transfer them.
7. Bake the custard for 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Again, this depends on how deep your ramekins are and how much you fill them. The custard is done when the edges are firm but the center is still a little wobbly, like jello.
8. Remove the ramekins from the baking dish and cool to room temperature before refrigerating for at least 4 hours.
9. Once ready to serve, sprinkle some sugar on top of each custard and place under the broiler for 2-3 minutes, or until the sugar on top caramelizes and turns brown. Unfortunately it's hard to get that perfect crispy top when using the broiler but it's the easiest way to do it if you don't own a blow torch.

Optional: I made half of the crème brûlées traditionally, and half with a strawberry glaze. Making the glaze is easy, and to assemble simply spoon a thin layer of the glaze over top of the custard before sprinkling the additional sugar on top. I made way too much glaze, so I served the extra alongside the crème brûlée and some people chose to spoon some extra onto their individual portions.

Strawberry Glaze

• 1 cup fresh or frozen strawberries
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 lemon, juiced

Combine all of the ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer until the liquid reduces to about half. Puree the mixture and cool before applying to the custard.