Vanilla Crème Brûlée

The earliest known recipe for crème brûlée appears in François Massialot's 1691 cookbook. Crème brûlée also known as burned cream, is similar to crema Catalana, is a dessert consisting of a rich custard base topped with a thin layer crust of caramelized sugar. Crème brûlée mixture can be made ahead and kept refrigerated. Stir up before using. To cook your crème brûlée, pretty much any ramekins would do the job. Though, for awesome and consistent results, use porcelaine dishes or the traditional Catalan clay dish 5 1/4'' x 1'' (13.33 x 2.5cm). Capacity 6 oz/180g.

Bring to a simmer, heavy cream with milk, vanilla and 30g sugar. Turn heat off, cover and let infuse for about 20 min. Meanwhile, beat yolks with 80g remaining sugar. Pour the hot vanilla infused cream in yolks mixture; mix well. Sieve and fill up ramekins placed onto a baking tray. Use a blowtorch to eliminate small bubbles that have formed on the surface of the custard.

Bring to a boil about 2.5 qt/2000g water. Preheat oven to 325ºF/160ºC. Set temperature to 300ºF/150ºC if using a convection oven. Place tray inside the oven first, and carefully pour boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake for 35 minutes or until set. Transfer molds onto your work surface lined with a couple of paper towels. Let cool and refrigerate custard overnight. Crème brûlée can be stored for up to 3 days. Do not freeze. When ready to serve, gently pat dry surface of the crème brûlée to remove excess moisture. Top with 15g sugar (2 teaspoons) and blow torch to caramelize. Garnish with seasonal fruits and dried vanilla pods. Enjoy!