Crème Brûlée au Cointreau
I have made this a million times and it is delicious. It is adapted from a recipe entitled "La Fameuse Creme Brulee du Cirque au Cointreau".
I have made this a million times and it is delicious. It is adapted from a recipe entitled "La Fameuse Creme Brulee du Cirque au Cointreau".
- Carbohydrate 25.426275 g
- Cholesterol 372.81 mg
- Fat 48.5488 g
- Fiber 0.37100001335144 g
- Protein 5.1882 g
- Saturated Fat 29.03259 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (165g)
- Sodium 53.537125 mg
- Sugar 25.0552749866486 g
- Trans Fat 2.45201 g
- Calories 560 calories
Step-by-step
- Preheat the oven to 250F.
- Heat the heavy cream to just below the boiling point.
- Add the vanilla bean and the orange peel; cover and keep warm (I scrape out the beans, although the recipe does not specify this).
- Stir the sugar, egg yolks, and orange liqueur together just until blended - stir, do not beat and cause bubbles.
- Gradually stir in the hot cream and mix well to dissolve the sugar - again, stir rather than beat.
- Ladle the custard through a fine-meshed sieve into the ramekins (each 1/2 cup capacity, about 1 inch deep).
- Slide the oven rack onto the middle level of the preheated oven.
- Arrange the molds in the baking pan, slide out the rack, and set the pan upon it.
- Very carefully pour enough boiling water around the molds to come halfway up the sides of them.
- Even more carefully - so as not to slosh water into the custards - slide the rack back into the oven.
- Bake about one hour or until the custards are set.
- Test by poking the tip of a paring knife 1 inch from the side of the mold into the custard.
- The knife should come out clean, but the custard should still tremble slightly - showing it is not overdone.
- Shortly before serving, coat each with sugar and use blowtorch to make sugar crust.
- Note that custards may be made several days in advance; cover and refrigerate.
- Create crust shortly before serving.
Straining the warm custard base through a fine-meshed sieve immediately before dividing it among the ramekins is the single step that dictates whether the finished dessert achieves a velvety texture or sets with an unappealing, curdled grain. Puring through the mesh catches any stray bits of cooked egg white, vanilla pod debris, or undissolved sugar crystals that survived the initial mixing phase. Heating the dairy to just below the boiling point ensures the vanilla bean infuses efficiently without scorching the milk sugars. Whisking the egg yolks with sugar and orange liqueur requires a gentle hand; incorporating too much air creates foam on the surface that ruins the visual appeal of the baked custard. Baking at a low oven temperature of 250 degrees Fahrenheit protects the delicate dairy proteins from overcoagulating, which causes the mixture to break and release liquid. Placing the baking pan on the oven rack before adding boiling water prevents sloshing and potential burns while stabilizing the ambient heat around the shallow molds. Testing for doneness involves inserting a paring knife one inch from the edge; the blade emerges clean while the center maintains a slight tremble, indicating the residual heat will finish the setting process safely in the refrigerator. Using a split vanilla bean yields thousands of aromatic specks distributed evenly through the heavy cream, while utilizing candied orange peel introduces concentrated citrus oils that standard fresh zest cannot replicate with the same depth. Custards prepared days in advance demand careful plastic wrap coverage directly against the surface to prevent condensation from forming on the fragile skin. Applying the sugar layer strictly before serving preserves the structural integrity of the brittle caramel crust, preventing the moisture from the refrigerator from dissolving the crisp finish before the dessert reaches the table.
