Creme Brulee

As behind as I've gotten in my posting, it's probably no surprise that I didn't open one of my Christmas presents until Valentine's Day.  I had every intention of using my new kitchen torch regularly, but our home was creme brulee-less for the entire month of January.  

Valentine's Day felt like the perfect opportunity to prepare Davy's favorite dessert, and I chose an easy-sounding recipe from Mark Bittman's The Best Recipes in the World for my first attempt at creme brulee.  


It's strange to think that such a decadent dessert is comprised of so few ingredients: egg yolks, cream, sugar, and vanilla bean.  You beat the yolks and heat the cream and vanilla bean, and then combine them carefully so as not to curdle the egg.

The mixture is then divided between four ramekins, which are baked in a water bath until the tops are golden and the custard is mostly set.

I made mine the night before Valentine's Day so they would be ready, and we took care of the fun part, using the torch to caramelize the sugar topping, just before we ate them.

We made up for the lost time between Christmas and Valentine's Day, and finished the creme brulees in two days.  They were well worth the wait.