Creme Brulee

[KKLL00b]

I had pretty good results with a lemongrass/ginger panna cotta so I decided to see how it translated to creme brulee....FABULOUS!!!

I recently took some classes on Mexican cooking techniques and we made flan de coco and flan con queso. I may try my hand at a coconut creme brulee since the coconut flan turned out great.

My kaffir lime trees are about 12" tall now so I may use a few leaves to make a "Thai" influenced brulee with lemongrass, ginger, and kaffir lime leaf. I may also use pandan instead of vanilla, but I'm wondering how the green color of the pandan extract will affect the color of the finished brulee. Don't want it to look "unappetizingly green".

[formula400]

Hello Formula400,

How do you make both of those flavors of creme brulee? Tonka brulee or cocoa gru brulee? Is the Tonka...vanilla? And what is cocoa gru?

Thanks and have a great day,

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hello, sorry about the late reply but here goes

Tonka, tastes like vanilla and spice.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonka_bean

grate it in to you liquid and bring to the boil, add yolks and sugar and pass, cook out.

about 3 or 4 beans per 1ltr, or as u like

Valrhona grue de cocoa is the husk of the cocoa bean,

again about 250g in to your liquid and infuse. we make a grue brislet, cook that and then infuse that into liquid and make brulee`s/parfaits, mousse.......

[Gingersnap]

Since tonka beans are prohibited by the FDA in the USA, I know very little about them, and I first heard about tonka beans only last year at the World Pastry Team Championship.

Are they very widely used in other countries?

[tan319]

Cocoa grue are also known as 'nibs'.

Cocoa barry/Cocoa Noel all make them.

Tonka bean is widely used in Europe but there was a big stink in NYC a few years ago when someone used them.

[MikeJ]

White chocolate with Grand Marnier,

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That sounds phenomenal... I don't suppose you have a recipe handy?

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I definately do!

Here you go:

2L 35% cream

1/2-2/3 Cup sugar depending on sweet you like it

20 egg yolks

2tsp vanilla extract

500gm white chocolate

4oz Grand Marnier

Heat cream just until boiling, pour over chocolate and stir till melted

Temper eggs with cream mixture

add other ingredients, strain through chinois

bake in convection oven @300 covered with a sheet pan approx. 30-40 min. depending on size of ramekin used

They are done when they have that "shake"- they will finish setting up while you let them cool in the water bath on the counter

Cool overnight in fridge

Brulee them and enjoy!

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Finally got around to making these - I went easy on the sugar and used a little more Grand Marnier, and they turned out sublimely. Lots of great compliments from the family. I think when I make them next I might experiment with using a little orange zest, although that might compromise the velvety texture a little bit.

[alanamoana]

Finally got around to making these - I went easy on the sugar and used a little more Grand Marnier, and they turned out sublimely.  Lots of great compliments from the family.  I think when I make them next I might experiment with using a little orange zest, although that might compromise the velvety texture a little bit.

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if you infuse the zest in the cream and strain it out, it won't affect the texture at all.

[DanM]

A flavour I tried last year that was new to me was steeping fresh ginger in the cream. So fresh and delicious!

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I made one a while back with ginger, lemon grass, and green tea which turned out amazing!

What I love about creme brulee is that they are relatively easy to make in large quantities for a cheap price and look quite impressive.

Dan

[CalumC]

I never bake/water bath cook mine, just make a straight up custard with double cream and let the eggs set it. Gorgeous every time.

[chefdg]

I know how to temper the yolks but why? What is the difference if you just mix the yolks, sugar and cream cold and bake???

[Lisa Shock]

The process guarantees that you've killed anything living in the cream. Since the custard itself won't go to the boiling point, getting the cream up to a high temp ensures purity. This practice does pre-date pasteurization, but is prudent, especially if using manufacturing cream and/or if you plan to hold the un-sugared custards for a couple days prior to serving.

The process also ensures that the egg is really thoroughly mixed in, so that you get an even and smooth texture. And that the sugar and flavorings are also evenly distributed. It also means the mix cooks faster once in the oven. If you start cold, the egg has a tendency to separate out into yellow spots and the sugar may not fully dissolve -both situations resulting in poor quality product.

[tino27]

You're asking two separate questions.

Why do you temper? Because you are mixing a hot liquid (usually cream) with cold or room temperature eggs. If you simply added the hot liquid straight to the yolks, you'd curdle them. By gradually bringing the temperature of the yolks up, you avoid that problem.

As for the second question, why not just mix everything together cold and then bake ... I'd be concerned that the sugar might not fully dissolve into cold cream. Not to mention that you usually scald the cream and then steep a flavoring agent into it (like vanilla beans). While cold infusion is certainly possible, it would take a heck of a lot longer.

[chefdg]

Thanks for the response guys. I'm wondering if either of you have tested the two methods side by side, and what the results were.

[Lisa Shock]

Thanks for the response guys. I'm wondering if either of you have tested the two methods side by side, and what the results were.

Not directly, no.

But, my husband makes a custard pie that's assembled cold with almost the same ingredients, then baked. And it always comes out with yellow patches and an uneven texture.

There is probably a way to make the mix better and faster using some machinery, I just haven't seen it done. I have seen creme anglaise made in 45 seconds in a carefully tended, constantly stirred container in a microwave. (for competition) So, I suspect that it could be done that way instead of on the stove, but, since every microwave is different, it's difficult to give absolute directions and, I suspect that you'd have to run the mix through a chinois prior to baking to insure that the microwave didn't create any lumps by overcooking tiny areas.

[aaronfennell]

hi all, for my brulee i use:

2ltr double milk

20 egg yolks

200g sugar

2 vanilla pods

mix it all together and cook over a ban marie until it splits, then put it through a blender and pass it.

then into the ramekins to set its awesome creamy and rich

Aaron