Creme brûlée is usually associated with a fancy posh restaurant but rest assured you can easily recreate this dessert at home. I flavored my creme brûlée with a vanilla bean, but you can flavor it with orange or lemon zest, cardamom, even saffron. I think out of all the desserts in the world this is my favorite because you've got this burnt, sugary top and when you crack into it you've got this wonderful rich custard with little specks of vanilla. I love it! So make this for a nice ending to a dinner party and trust me everyone will be impressed at your cooking skills.
Ingredients:
2 cups heavy cream
6 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling
1 vanilla bean
Preheat your oven to 325°F
Split the vanilla bean in half and scrap the seeds out and place the seeds and the whole bean into a saucepan with the heavy cream and heat for 5 minutes
Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks and sugar together in a bowl
Remove the vanilla bean, ladle a small amount of the heated cream into the egg yolks, whisk, then slowly add the rest of the cream to the mixture
Pour the custard into 6 (4 oz.) ramekins, place them in a roasting tray, then fill halfway with boiling water
Cook in the oven for 30-45 minutes, until the custard jiggles a little when shaken
Cool at room temperature then refrigerate for a few hours or overnight
When ready to serve, sprinkle 1 tbsp. of sugar over each of the ramekins then with a kitchen torch or a hot broiler flambe the sugar until it's burnt
Serve with a few fresh berries and a sprig of mint