Recipe: Nantucket Restaurant Creme Brulee

CREME BRULEE

2 cups heavy cream
4 large egg yolks
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise and scraped
3 tbsp. superfine sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

To prepare the custard, in a medium bowl, whisk together the cream, egg yolks, granulated sugar, and vanilla scrapings. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve, then divide it among six 4-oz. ramekins.

Arrange the ramekins in a baking pan and place it on the oven rack. Pour enough very hot water into the baking pan to reach two thirds of the way up the sides of the ramekins. Cover the baking pan with foil and prick in a few places with a knife.

Bake the custards for 40 to 45 minutes, or until set around the edges but still slightly loose in the center. Transfer the ramekins to a rack and let cool, then cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours to overnight.

Right before serving, sprinkle a thin, even coating of the superfine sugar on the surface of each custard. Use a preheated broiler or a blowtorch to caramelize the sugar. It will take about 1 to 2 minutes in a broiler, or about 30 seconds with a blowtorch.

Makes 6 servings
Used by permission to Recipelink.com from
Source: The Nantucket Restaurants Cookbook by Melissa Clark, Samara Farber Mormar