Cat Santamauro makes a Restaurant Week staple look so simple and sexy.
Chocolate Creme Brulee
Crème brulee is awesome. The reason it’s awesome is it’s simplicity with very few ingredients. Lets face it, cream tastes good. The only thing it could possibly be missing is chocolate. Here’s the remedy.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 8 egg yolks
- 1 vanilla bean cut lengthwise (you can use 2 teaspoons of high quality vanilla extract if you don’t have beans, but don’t use imitation.)
- 2/3 cup sugar plus more for topping
- 4 very thin squares high quality dark chocolate
Directions
- In a heavy bottomed pan scald the cream and vanilla until steaming but don’t let it boil.
- Remove the vanilla beans and scrape the seed back into the cream. Whisk well.
- In a separate bowl whisk the egg yolks and sugar until smooth.
- Add a small amount of the cream to the eggs and whisk throughly.
- Once it is fully incorporated add the remaining cream in a slow stream mixing constantly. (This is an important step as if you add the hot cream too quickly it will cause the eggs to cook and you will end up with vanilla scrambled eggs, which, while it might be good, is not what we are going for)
- Run the mixture through a fine sieve to remove and lumps.
- Fill ramekins and drop one square of chocolate in the center of each.
- Place in a water bath. (A water bath, for those that don’t know, is when you place the ramekin inside another container, like a casserole pan, and fill it with water until it comes halfway up the ramekins. It ensures even cooking)
- Bake at 250 for 1 to 1 ½ hours until the quiver slightly in the center when moved.
- Let cool for several hours (at least 5)
- Right before serving sprinkle the top with a teaspoon of sugar. Using a kitchen torch move the flame in steady circles until all the sugar gets all hard and yummy. Serve immediately.
– Cat Santamauro
catFood is one girl’s mission to teach people the art of simple food with big flavor. She loves cheese, crafts, and her Kitchen-Aid mixer. She can often be found around fresh produce and curing the common cold with Matzo Ball Soup.
