Crème
Brûlée

Preheat the oven

Set the oven to 150°C°C, top-bottom heat. Put the kettle on — you'll need hot water for the bain-marie.

Heat the cream with vanilla

Split vanilla pod (or 2 tsp vanilla paste) (1 szt) lengthwise and scrape out the seeds with a knife. Drop seeds and empty pod into a saucepan, pour in heavy cream 30% or 36% (500 ml). Heat on medium until it starts steaming — do not boil. Take off heat and rest 10 minutes so the vanilla infuses.

Mix yolks with sugar

In a bowl combine egg yolks (6 szt) and sugar (for custard) (80 g). Whisk just until smooth — don't aerate. Air bubbles will turn into foam on top of the baked custard.

Temper the yolks with cream

Remove the vanilla pod from the heavy cream 30% or 36% (500 ml). Pour the warm cream into the egg yolks (6 szt) in a thin stream, whisking constantly. Slow pouring prevents the yolks from scrambling. Strain the mixture through a sieve into a jug — it catches any curdled bits and chalazae.

Pour into ramekins and set up the bain-marie

Place 6 shallow ramekins in a deep baking dish or tray. Divide the mixture evenly. Slide the tray into the oven, then pour hot water from the kettle into the tray — halfway up the ramekins. Steam makes the custard set gently and evenly, without a cracked surface.

Bake the custard

Bake 35-45 minutes at 150°C°C. The custard is done when the center jiggles like jelly as you nudge the ramekin — edges set, middle still soft. It finishes setting as it cools.

Bake the custard

40:00

Start

Chill in the fridge

Lift the ramekins out of the water bath, cool on the counter for 30 minutes. Refrigerate at least 4 hours, ideally overnight. The custard must be cold so it survives the torch without melting under the caramel.

Chill in the fridge

240:00

Start

Caramelize the sugar

Just before serving, blot the custard surface with a paper towel — moisture blocks caramelization. Sprinkle each ramekin with a thin, even layer of sugar (for the crust) (60 g) (about 10 g each). Torch the sugar, holding the flame 5-7 cm above, until amber. No torch: slide ramekins under the oven's hot grill for 2-3 minutes, watching constantly.