Creme Brulee is my little secret for elegant entertaining without breaking a sweat. It's oober easy with very few ingredients. Perfect for making days in advance. And as an added bonus - creamy and delicious! And who doesn't love impressing guest with a blow torch?
Granted, the standard Creme Brulee isn't overly inventive. So I like to play with the flavors. For a little festive flare, I spread a cranberry, orange and ginger infused jam in the bottom of each ramekin. The custard sits neatly on top of the jam as the perfect creamy, vanilla contrast. And of course, the signature finish - a crisp and crackly sugar top.
It's a perfect dessert for easy holiday entertaining!
Cranberry Crème Brulee
Ingredients
For the cranberry jam
· 2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
· ½ cup sugar
· Zest and juice of an orange
· 3in piece of ginger, peeled
For the custard
· 6 egg yolks
· 1 cup sugar, divided
· 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste
· 1 qt heavy cream
For the jam… Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Heat the pan over medium-low. Allow the sugar to melt and the cranberries to soften and pop. Continue to cook and stir until the jam thickens. Discard the piece or ginger and allow the jam to cool.
For the custard… in a large bowl whisk together the yolks and ½ cup of sugar until pale yellow and thick. Add the vanilla bean paste. Whisk in the cream.
Spoon about 1 tbsp of cranberry jam in the bottom of an 8oz ramekin. Fill the ramekin with custard up to the lower lip. Repeat with another 5 ramekins.
Preheat oven to 325F.
Place the ramekins in a large roasting pan. Transfer the roasting pan to the oven. Fill the roasting pan with water until the water is about half way up the sides of the ramekins. Bake for 45-55 minutes until the custard is set but still wobbly in the center.
Remove the ramekins from the water bath. Chill for at least 2 hours.
Just before serving, remove the ramekins from the fridge. Top each custard with about 1 tbsp of sugar. Spread the sugar evenly over the top of the custard. Using a small kitchen torch, brulee the custards until the sugar is golden brown.
Serves 6
Gluten Free Friendly!
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