For a decadent desert that will impress anyone, a Crème brûlée is a sure way to go! Ours take a few simple ingredients and adds a twist with fresh ginger for an extra note of flavor. We start our Crème brûlée by laying out all our ingredients. 2 Cups of cream, 1/2 a cup of sugar, 6 eggs, 1 Vanilla Bean, and a piece of fresh ginger.

Next, we place small sauce-pot over low heat and add the cream and sugar. Then we use a sharp paring knife to split the vanilla bean lengthwise, exposing the inner pulp. In order to remove the pulp, we take the backside of our knife and scrape down the length of the bean. The pulp will come right out, and we then add that to our cream mixture. The pulp is where we get the majority of the vanilla flavor and elegant little black specks. You can choose to add the empty bean halves as well, or put them in a bag of sugar to make vanilla-sugar. Let the vanilla-cream mixture warm on low-heat, and stir it to incorporate everything. Then, cover and let it steep for 10 minutes. Now is a good time to preheat your oven to 325°.

Our next step is to prepare the egg yolks. Separating eggs is quick and easy, and the best tool for the job is one you already have, your hands. Crack the egg into your hand and move the yolk around carefully so the whites run through your finger. You can pass the yolk from one hand to another to remove the last bits of egg-white. Then put your 5 egg yolks in a large bowl. The egg-whites make a great scramble, omelette or frittata, so be sure to save those for another time. Next, whisk egg yolks with a Large, Stainless Steel Wire Whisk until they become a lighter, pale yellow.

After the cream mixture is done steeping, we strained it through a Fine-Mesh Strainer into a measuring cup, or other cup with a spout. Next, was the most careful part of the process, tempering the hot cream into the egg yolks. Keeping the egg yolks whisked with one hand, very slowly pour the hot cream into the yolks. If you add hot liquid to the eggs too quickly, you will end up with scrambled eggs. So, pour only a little at a time, and make sure it’s incorporated, then continue a slow stream of the rest of the cream. Once the entire mixture is incorporated it’s time to put it into our Ramekins.

Arrange 6 4oz, Porcelain Ramekins in a 2 Quart baking dish. If you have a smaller backing dish, just put 3 Ramekins at a time in each of them. Then evenly pour the egg and cream mixture into the Ramekins.

Our last step before baking is to create a water bath for the custard. This ensures that the oven’s heat is evenly and gently applied to the entire Ramekin. Simply pour hot water into the surrounding baking dish until it reaches halfway up the Ramekin. then put the whole dish in your oven to bake for 30-35 minutes.

After 30 minutes, check the to see that the custard is set. It should giggle in the center when shaken gently. When they’re done, remove the Ramekins from the water bath and set aside to cool for 30 minutes. Then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. When you are ready to make the brûlée top, spoon about a teaspoon of sugar on the top of the custard. Then gently tap and rotate the Ramekin until sugar evenly coats the entire top. Then it’s time for the torching! If you don’t already have a torch this one works great: BBT-2 Professional Creme Brulee Torch. Hold the torch a few inches away from the sugar and watch for when the white sugar starts to turn clear and then brown. Just when you see it start to brown, move to another spot on the custard. Keep moving around the entire surface until it’s all evenly browned. You can always come back to a spot that’s under-done, but you can’t fix a burnt top. Once you’ve brûléed the top they are ready to eat, or to cover and refrigerate for up to a day.

We garnished ours with a little sliced mango and kiwi. Any fresh fruit works well here, as would a sprig of fresh mint.

Servings: 6

Active Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Inactive Time: 3 hours

Ingredients:

• 2 Cups whipping cream
• 1/2 cup sugar, plus 6 teaspoons
• 2 tablespoons chopped and peeled fresh ginger
• 1 vanilla bean
• 5 large egg yolks
• Fresh fruit for garnish

Recipe Courtesy of BON APPÉTIT, FEBRUARY 1999