more involved than you think

I have a book at home that has a recipe - Maury Rubin's Book of Tarts. He says he got the ideal from Nancy Silverstein from La Brea Bakery and Campanile fame. I'll have to check the recipe (at work now)but I do know that you have to approach it differently than a standard creme brulee. In short, you need a blow torch to carmelize the custard because the tart crust cannot withstand the heat of a broiler (the traditional creme brulee method) without burning. And without that cruncy top, it's just a custard tart.

Still interested? I know fancy kitchen stores sell mini hand-held torches for about $35 or that the full scale hardware store version works too - I've seen Julia use one on TV!

Let me know - I can post it early next week if you want to give it a shot.