Creme Brulee

[McAuliflower]

Went out for dessert and drinks on Saturday and found some nice fall flavors offered at a restaurant downtown.

I ordered the maple creme brulee, which was described as "piped in a cup". The waitress warned me kind of non-specifically that this wasn't "normal" creme brulee.

I didn't object, i like different flavors...

the Creme Brulee that was brought out was a wonderfully flavored mousse piped in a praline shell. No top shell of sugar! Now I understand the warning, though they could have been more specific about it

It was good though didn't strike me at all like a creme brulee. Maple Creme Mousse... was more like it. Tasted like eating pecan pie in a fluffy cloud of whipped cream.

Maybe the pastry chef was thinking that with the crispy sugar shell holding the mousse, it was almost like an upside down creme brulee?? I don't think so.

Though the dessert flavors were wonderful, its title caused me to ruminate on it for quite sometime... hence this post

is mousse that out of fashion that it has to be called a Brulee?

[naes]

...is mousse that out of fashion  that it has to be called a Brulee?

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People often confuse what "brulee" really means. Brulee is the method of heating/melting sugars with a flame. You can coat a slice of fruit in sugar, put a torch to it, and you end up with fruit brulee. Creme brulee is just the application of this method on top of a cream-based custard.

I think it's a bit of stretch to call the dessert you had a creme brulee. I read about Sam Mason's take on creme brulee in which he spherified the custard and then laid a thin piece of caramel on top of the pearls of custard. Now technically that didn't employ the brulee method but I think it's close enough that he can still call it a creme brulee.

My 2 cents. Mileage may vary.

Sean

[aguynamedrobert]

Hey guys,

I would have to agree and say that doesn't sound like a creme brulee at all. I mean we need to be open to differen styles and interpretations but I just don't think that what you had classifies. two reasons

1) it doesnt even sound like it is a custard dessert...

2) it doesn't have the caramelized sugar shell on top...

Doesn't classify in my opinion

-Robert

www.chocolateguild.com

[PatyGirl]

I don't like it very much when people 're-define' classics. The other day I had a chocolate clafoutis, which was a chocolate chip pound cake. You just can't get away with something like that It's embarassing! How they had the guts to put that on the menu is beyond me. You just shouldn't meddle with classics like that.

Having said that... the creme brulée you describe doesn't sound that off to me. When absurdly well made, the custard may feel as light and fluffy as a mousse/cloud. And they did include a crunchy maple caramel shell, right? So both elements were technically present.

[Gifted Gourmet]

On a trip stop while driving through Bloomington, Illinois, my husband and I stopped at a diner ... our "Duck a l'Orange" turned out to be dark meat of chicken with red-dyed grapes which they claimed were cherries ... nothing was orange about the dish ...

and I was less than pleased with their audacity! Chutzpah, really!

[McAuliflower]

On a trip stop while driving through Bloomington, Illinois, my husband and I stopped at a diner ... our "Duck a l'Orange" turned out to be dark meat of chicken with red-dyed grapes which they claimed were cherries ... nothing was orange about the dish  ...

and I was less than pleased with their audacity! Chutzpah, really! 

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side note:

Wow- you just triggered an odd food memory: in Germany on the Air Force base, eating an ice cream sundae with a red dyed grape instead of a cherry!