Crème brulee is a dessert prep that has withstood the test of time (it has been around since 1691), and for good reason – it is so delicious! We recently found that if we were going to be historical about it we should have served this dessert last week, since in Catalan cuisine crème brulee is served on March 19th for Saint Joseph’s Day. However, if you ask us, it’s always a good time to consume this scrumptious treat so we went ahead and made it anyway. After all, there’s nothing quite like the satisfying crunch of cracking through the crisp, glossy brunt sugar crust on a crème brulee. Although, diving into the smooth and creamy custard underneath is a close second. Our version of this old standby does have a slight twist to it though – coffee! As you might have guessed, we love espresso so much that we add it to a recipe whenever we have the opportunity. We must admit it does taste pretty darn good. Watch as Brandi and Kaylie play with fire (we promise no buildings were harmed or burned down during this film) and create some mighty fine coffee crème brulee.
Brewin' with Brandi: Coffee Creme Brûlée
Ingredients
- 2 cups of light cream
- 2 teaspoons of finely ground espresso
- 8 tablespoons of sugar
- 4 egg yolks
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon brandy
Directions
- Start by heating your stove to medium, and combining the cream, finely ground espresso and half the sugar in a medium sized pan.
- Stir the ingredients until all of the sugar is dissolved and the coffee is mixed in well.
- Meanwhile, put the egg yolks in a separate bowl and beat in the flour to make a smooth paste.
- Then, gradually stir the warm coffee mixture into the egg paste you just created until everything is combined well.
- Return this mix to the pan and heat gently, stirring the mixture for 5-10 minutes until it forms a thick custard.
- Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the brandy.
- Pour the custard into 4 small ramekins. Let them cool, then cover and chill the custard in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight.
- When you are ready to serve the crème brulees, sprinkle each one with 1 tablespoon of the remaining sugar. Next, caramelize the sugar with a kitchen blowtorch. If you don’t have a kitchen blowtorch, you can achieve the same effect by the placing the sugar covered custard under your oven’s broiler for about 5 minutes until the sugar caramelizes.