Classic French Crème Brulée - The Topic

[tan319]

hello all.

just wondering if anybody has a favorite way to cook their brulee.

I just did some in a convection oven, low fan, 225 and they got a bit wierd on top. In oval dishes, BTW.

Good texture inside. Just a bit wierd on top.

I welcome any input.

thanks.

[Dave the Cook]

What do you mean by weird?

[Suzanne F]

Best way: blowtorch.

[tan319]

I'm sorry, I should have been more descriptive.

A bit of a skin on top.

It's not broken, just a bit rough on top.

I use a torch to brulee but am super interested in one of those electronic salamander type things.

I saw it on the food network best pastry comp and did a websearch and found them for about 129.00 bucks. I might be able to get one @ my new gig since the chef seems to be more then willing to spend on stuff that improves quality.

I just started there a week ago and redid the dessert menu this week and sales are already up!!!

[snowangel]

Best way: blowtorch.

Agreed. My friends don't call me "Sparky" for no reason. Blowtorch is also multi-purpose. Light grill. Loosen rusted on bolts, etc.

[nightscotsman]

I think the convection oven is too harsh of a heat to properly cook the creme brulee custard (as opposed to caramelizing the top). I use a conventional oven at 300-325 F and bake in a water bath until just barely set in the middle, or even still a little jiggly. You may have to lay a sheet of foil over the pan so the tops don't overcook and curdle - that's probably what happened to the ones you did in the convection oven.

[Dana]

What nightscotsman said. Also use the middle rack. Mine tend to get brown on top while the inside is still not done of the pan in in the top half of the oven.

[tan319]

thank you folks for the suggestions.

Today we did them in the convection oven in hotel pans @225, load off. They got raves last night, skin or not, :-).

Have to tell you though, there's some weird ovens in this place. I wasn't digging this convection oven for this flourless choc cake I was doing so I put them in a regular oven upstairs, and found out it basically has no temp unless you put it on @ 500!!!

My assistant had put them in so I found them and threw them into the convection oven and they turned out ok. I don't like it because it makes them rise unevenly, usually.

I'm also in a higher altitude so i'm sure it probably affects it.

[Fish]

I'm having a problem getting my creme brulees (cremes brulee ?) perfect. The custard is smooth, but when I bake it, some of the portions develop a soft, foamy top that I don't like. Is there a trick to getting a smooth, firm top ? The two things I suspect I'm doing wrong are:

1) Beating the custard with an electric beater rather than a whisk. The surface gets foamy, but I skim all the foam off. Still, I wonder if using a whisk, at least when adding the cream to the egg mixture would reduce foaming.

2) Amount of water in the bain marie. Could it be that I don't enough (or that I have too) water ? I fill to just below the top of the custard in the ramekins.

Anyone ?

- S

[Dave the Cook]

This happened to me a couple of weeks ago. Even though I used a whisk, and skimmed like you did, there must have been air still suspended in the custard. As it heated up, the air rose to the surface as little custard bubbles, and set there, leaving a spongy-looking (but still pretty firm) surface. That was my guess, anyway, and your experience makes me more confident. Maybe some pastry god will stroll by and let us know.

Luckily, crispy, caramelized sugar can hide a multitude of sins. No one but me knew about it.

[lorea]

Hmm....I stir mine with a whisk and I try not to incorporate air. And right before it goes into the bain marie, I slam the custards down on the countertop to force some of the air out. I normally end up with 2 or 3 bubbles when I do it this way. Maybe that will help?

[thebaker]

also if you have a torch you can use the flame and blow the bubbles away..

[chefette]

STIR with the whisk - no beating!!!!!!!!

If you have foamy bubbles hit them with a torch quickly BEFORE you put them in the oven

[tan319]

STIR with the whisk - no beating!!!!!!!!

If you have foamy bubbles hit them with a torch quickly BEFORE you put them in the oven

chefette is right, the quick pass with the torch before you bake at any bubbles will insure a smooth finish.

Also, I quickly cook my custard on the fire ala creme anglaise, then strain before pouring into my dishes, a technique that I got here on the 'gullet.

Always works for me.

Also, I prefer a radiant oven over convection for my brulee.

[nightscotsman]

Yep, I cook and strain before baking too. You get a much smoother, richer tasting custard that way. Never had problems with bubbles.

[chefette]

Yes - always strain. That's a given.

I prefer a convection oven and then dry bake the brulee - much faster and more consistent results. But you need a good convection oven

[Steve Klc]

The torch does seem to get rid of the micro-bubbles. I know a few people who also cover their trays of brulees with plastic wrap, tightly stretched right down to the surface. Seems to keep them more moist and helps prevent the surface from overcooking.

[tan319]

The torch does seem to get rid of the micro-bubbles. I know a few people who also cover their trays of brulees with plastic wrap, tightly stretched right down to the surface. Seems to keep them more moist and helps prevent the surface from overcooking.

Steve,

Plastic wrap won't melt at 250/300 f?

I always cover my flans in the pan with plastic but I bake them at 225f.

chefette:

I prefer a convection oven and then dry bake the brulee - much faster and more consistent results. But you need a good convection oven

chefette,

Can you explain what you mean by dry bake?

No waterbath?

[cbarre02]

I have found that making the batter 24 hours in advance will allow all of the air to escape prior to baking. Also don't let the cream come to a boil, that will also incorporate air, the fat in the cream will trap water vapor and result in the bubbles after baking. Instead place a ladle in to the hot cream (or milk mixture), when you lift it out of the pot and a large cloud of steam rises from the bottom of the over turned ladle then you are ready. Though I am not sure what temp this is (I am guessing around 190) it has always worked for me.

[Dave the Cook]

So all of you professionals are sure that this effect is caused by air in the preset mixture?

[cbarre02]

Dave you seem to be quite an authority on "egg based" subjects (no pun intended), what is your opinion?

[mybench]

A couple of thoughts...

I make the custard base the day before I bake off the brulees. This gives the proteins time to absorb the excess water and ensures a creamy texture. I strain right after tempering, cool in an ice bath then into the fridge till the next day. I think this time helps with the air bubbles as well.

I place a side towel/ napkin on the sheet tray with the ramekins on top. This keeps the ramekins from sliding when you pour the water off.

I place a second sheet tray, inverted, on top of the ramekin filled sheet tray. This works well for me but I have also heard the plastic wrap idea works great.

Good luck.

[Dave the Cook]

Dave you seem to be quite an authority on "egg based" subjects (no pun intended), what is your opinion?

I apologize if I gave the impression of being an expert on anything! In retrospect, my post might have seemed like a taunt, but I didn't intend it that way. I'm just a liitle surprised that everyone is convinced that entrained air is the problem. We can usually get into arguments over much less! I went on record with the air theory, up above, becuase fish taked about beating the custard. But the more I think about it, the less persuasive I find this theory.

I'm not sure exactly what fish is referring to, but what I observed was not a few microbubbles. It was a slightly spongy, lighter colored layer, about 1/4 inch thick, on top of the custard. It would take a lot of air to cause it. I cooked on the stove first -- without boiling or beating, I strained the custard, I gave the portions a good hard tap, and I didn't see any bubbles before baking -- so even if I had known about the trick with the torch, there wouldn't have been any reaon to employ it.

So now I'm wondering if it wasn't a case of too high a temperature causing evaporation above the level of the water bath, as fish surmised originally.

[cbarre02]

While "beating" the egg mixture the protein strand in the egg may have broken up. Even straining this liquid could not remove the broken protein strands. During baking these broken strand could have rose to the top, and formed there own layer outside of the homogenous one underneath.

Also I would like to point out that my inquiry about your opinion (Dave) was genuine; I was really impressed with some of the posts that you wrote for the egg cookery topic. Very interesting and well backed.

[Dave the Cook]

So: 1) how could this be prevented? Is/are there warning sign(s)? 2) how can we test it?

(Thanks for your clarification. And for the compliment.)