Créme Brûlée

 

 

What is a custard, anyway? It is a delicious dessert, yes, but technically speaking it's a liquid that has been thickened or set via the coagulation of egg protein. The key to perfect custards is to keep the internal temperature of the mixture below 185 °F / 85 °Cabove that point, they have a tendency to curdle. And curdling, dear friends, is the bane of any custard baker. Enter sous vide. By cooking custards in a sous vide bath, we can precisely dictate the temperature to which they are heated, thus eliminating the risk of a curdled dessert. We prepare our Crème Brûléealong with other delightful eggy treatsin small Mason jars, so the desserts emerge individually portioned in their own adorable vessel. Before serving, we add a golden-brown layer of caramelized sugar using a blowtorchdon't worry if you've never tried it, we'll walk you through the technique. The result: a sunshine-hued dessert with a deliciously crackly top and a whisper of elegant sweetness, easy to whip up (even if you're serving a large group) and eminently satisfying.

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