A few days ago, I was really craving Angel Food cake.  It’s one of my favorites, but I’ve never made it from scratch, so I gave it a go.  It was very easy and came out great– here’s a link to the recipe I used for that.

Since Angel Food cake uses only whites (quite a bit of them), I found myself in possession of a dozen yolks with no home. I used some for Caesar dressing, some for gnocchi, and still had a bunch left. What else is a girl to do?  I decided to make a custard.

Creme Brulee is one of my favorite things to eat, and my mom wanted to try it, so we made it happen. Playing with fire is always fun as well.

6 egg yolks

1/2 C sugar, plus more for torching

1 T vanilla extract or 1 vanilla bean pod

1 quart cream

 

Preheat the oven to 325

Gently heat cream with vanilla bean or extract til warmed but not scalding. Let steep for about 15 minutes.

Heat a pot of water

Whisk the yolks and the sugar together until well incorporated; Add cream, a little at a time, whisking to incorporate, until the yolks gradually warm (you can place your hand o on the underside of the bowl to make sure this is happening slowly; otherwise, you’ll have scrambled eggs!). Add the mixture to ramekins in a water bath and cook until set but still jiggly, about 45 minutes.

Let cool on countertop slightly, then wrap in plastic wrap, pressing wrap to the surface of the custard, and cool in the fridge, at least 2 hours.  These can be saved for a couple days as well if you’re better at planning than I am and want to make these ahead of time.

Now for the fun part: Once the custards are cooled, add a little sugar to the top of each custard, shaking to make sure it covers the surface (lightly).  Take a butane torch (these can be found at Walmart, if that helps. Also on amazon). Melt and caramelize the sugar, then repeat two more times for a super crunchy sugar crust. Top with berries and whipped cream and dig in.

Classic, but incredibly comforting.

-L