Creme Brulee – No Oven – Fast Chill

[TheLastOfUs]

Okay ...so I attempted Creme Brulee (stove top) roughly 3 times. The first attempt was awful...horrible proportions of ingredients..used corn starch badly...and was gloop.

2nd attempt - no corn starch, stove top (I heated to a simmer the heavy cream and the egg yolk mixture) and it did not "split" in my opinion..but stove-top ends up tasting a little egg-yolky. I thought - I put it in the fridge for 1 hour..and it chilled decently (was definitely runny like sauce) but the top set...the taste of the egg yolks died down - and it was DELICIOUS but NOT rich and creamy texture.

How does one make creme brulee without an oven? I tried making it at an oven - I've eaten oven made ones at restaurants and bistros..and they just lack a certain smooth rich texture than this Bistro 33 place I ate at in Sacramento - which makes theirs using stove-top.

Can anyone let me know how to make a killer Creme Brulee with fast chill times? I have tried using a freezer..but that freezes the cream and crystallizes than actually "chilling" it and allowing it to "Set slowly"

I am uncertain of the CHEMISTRY behind FREEZING vs Chilling.

[Pam R]

I don't have any answers for you, but I'm hoping somebody pipes in to help. I've tried this myself a couple of times, wanting to make small, individual portions for big catering events. The only thing I could think of to bake them in was foil cups, but that wasn't high-end enough. I'd love to be able to make it on the stove top, pour/spoon into a 2 oz. plastic container and top with a piece of burnt sugar.

Your second attempt tasted too eggy yet was still runny? What other ingredients and what proportions of each?

[thampik]

I haven't tried this method but this link ( http://fox13now.com/2012/12/07/stove-top-creme-brulee-12-07-12/) seems promising.

[JeanneCake]

Roland Mesnier has a recipe for stove top creme brulee in his book, Dessert University. I've used it (there are several varieties: orange, vanilla and champagne) and it's fine; as you would imagine, the texture is different than a baked version. (To my taste, it is less silky. I use it when I have to for exactly the reason Pam R lists.) I don't know if the recipe is on his website or not, but you could probably find it by googling it.

[TheLastOfUs]

I used 4 egg yolks - a lot of sugar - about 3 cups of heavy cream + 1/2 cup of milk and mixed it all together. I set it in the fridge without corn flour after heating it to 175 degrees C according to Modernist Cuisine and Custards in Vol 4. It was very nice - tasted great but was runny. I feel if I set it around 5-6 hours - it would be great..but 5-6 is long. Also I notice that oven-made creme brulees do not have a creamy custard texture...rather silky...which is something that I'm trying to go opposite of towards a richer cream texture.

[pastrygirl]

I've heard carageenan can be used for this, but haven't tried it. ChefSteps and Ideas in Food both have versions.

[pjm333]

I used to make this at a hotel I worked at for brunch,

Brulee

2 1/2 qts heavy cream

13 oz sugar

34 oz egg yolks

10 gelatin

2 vanilla beans split

2 t salt

Soak gelatin & drain. Bring cream & vanilla bean to boil, mix sugar & yolks then add cream. Return mixture to stove & thicken then strain and add gelatin. Add to brulee dishes.

[ChrisZ]

I often make creme brûlée on the stove, as I have always found oven-baked custards to be slightly unpredictable. I think that making them on a stove top - especially with a digital thermometer - makes it easier to get consistent results. I have often wondered if making creme brûlée on the stove is some type of sacrilege so I'm glad to know I'm not alone.

I adapted the recipe for a "vanilla cream" from the techniques section of an old cookbook, it's basically a vanilla mousse. I sometimes think I should convert the powdered gelatine to leaf so the recipe is even more consistent and it doesn't end up too firm, but I'll leave that for someone else. I already typed up the recipe for a friend, so I can copy and paste:

4 egg yolks (5 if they’re small)

60g sugar

250mls milk

3 teaspoons gelatine

300mls whipping cream

1 vanilla bean (or other flavour)

Extra sugar for the brûlée – approx 1 tablespoon per ramekin

Heat the milk with the flavour you’re using, eg. vanilla bean, chocolate, coffee, lavender, etc etc. Allow time to infuse if required.

Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until thick and pale. Whisk in the warmed milk. Heat gently until 75C – 80C. The custard should coat the back of a spoon. You don’t want to go over 80C or it will begin to taste eggy. Once it has reached around 75C, take it off the heat and gently whisk for a minute to stop the temperature from rising much further. Cover and let it cool down, give it a quick whisk every few minutes to stop a skin forming.

While the custard is cooling, hydrate the gelatine. Pour about 50mls of cold water into a shallow bowl and slowly sprinkle the gelatine powder on top, making sure the gelatine is soaking up water and not clumping together in dry lumps. Leave for a few minutes to allow the gelatine to absorb the liquid – it will become very thick. Heat the gelatine in the microwave without allowing it to boil – about 10 secs – and then stir until the liquid is a clear amber.

When both the gelatine and custard are at room temperature, whisk the gelatine into the custard. Whip the cream and fold into the custard, then pour into ramekins.

Refrigerate until set.

Do not add the sugar on top until you are ready to blow-torch, or it will simply dissolve into the cream.

When preparing the brûlée to serve, allow some time to refrigerate the ramekins again after blowtorching so they can firm up again.

[TheLastOfUs]

Any technique WITHOUT GELATIN? A restaurant I know makes it without the oven in a double boiler without gelatin.

[pbear]

FWIW, a double boiler is the first thing which came to mind when reading your OP. Or, actually, a bain marie. I've not done this for creme brulee (that I've always done in the oven), but I have for other egg custards, e.g., creme anglaise and even quiche. One advantage of this approach is that it's easy to cool the mixture quickly, by moving the cooking vessel to a bath with ice water.

To unpack that a little, what I do is combine the custard mixture in a stainless steel bowl, which I then set in a slightly larger pot with a trivet. Add enough water to the pot to come to the same level as the contents of the bowl. Apply heat to the pot, stirring the contents of the bowl constantly. This takes a little longer than preheating the water bath, but is more reliable. When the contents have gotten to the desired consistency and temp, pull the bowl from the bath. As I said, if you want to cool quickly, nest the bowl in a larger one containing ice-and-water. Continue to stir. If necessary, refresh the ice water. When cool, divide among custard cups and chill.

To repeat, I've not done exactly what you're attempting here, so I can't guarantee this will work. But I've done enough similar things to be confident it's worth a try.