Vanilla Creme Brulee (GF) (V) – Culinary Seasons

Creme Brulee, the creamy baked custard with a fire caramelized sugar crust on top is a classic French dessert. I am not one who generally craves sweets but this one is up there on my list of favorite desserts.

Don’t let this recipe intimidate you, it does require baking in a water bath and tempering eggs but watch the video below, it really isn’t that difficult to make. Plan ahead to let the custard chill sufficiently at least 4 hours but overnight would be ideal. Coat the top in sugar and caramelize with a torch, melt the sugar and apply another coat or two to get the nice crack when you break it with a spoon.

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The age old question Creme Brulee, Crema Catalana or Cambridge Burnt Cream, which came first?

Most of you are asking yourselves, has he lost his mind? What is he talking about? To answer your questions – probably, to the first one. The second one, well, Creme Brulee is a Classic French recipe that most of the world relates to for this particular dessert. But Spain has a dessert called Crema Catalana and the UK’s version is called Cambridge Burnt Cream or Trinity Cream.

Crema Catalana dates back to the 13th century when it was made by nuns, making it the oldest documented recipe of the three custards. But where the Crema Catalana may be the first, the ingredients and the process vary from the classic French dessert.

Crema Catalana is made from milk not cream and is usually flavored with lemon, orange and cinnamon plus has the addition of cornstarch (or Corn Flour as it is called in Europe). Where Creme Brulee is baked in a water bath, the Crema Catalana is make in a pot on the stovetop. The custard is then poured into ramekins and left to chill overnight. The next day, the chilled custard is sprinkled with sugar and caramelized with a torch.

Cambridge Burnt Cream, UK’s entry into the race of which came first, was documented during the 15th century with used the rich spring cream from cows. The recipes surrounding the UK custard are more similar to the French version but may include milk and cream and but both are flavored with vanilla.

The dessert is also known as Trinity Cream, Trinity College in Cambridge has documented during the late 1800s as being the first to caramelize the top of the baked custard. They would use a circular iron that was heated over fire then pressed into the sugar, caramelizing the sugar and imprinting the Trinity College logo into the finished caramel top. Similar to the brulee iron featured here.

French Chef Francois Massialot’s cookbook Cuisinier royal et bourgeois , from 1691, has a written recipe for Creme Brulee but he called it Creme al’Anglese (English cream). His version of the recipe did not brulee the sugar on top but would place a disc of caramelized sugar on top of the baked custard. The traditional French recipe is similar to the one I used for this recipe.

Depending on where you look on the internet, you will see debate between the UK history and the French history of which came first between the two. But it is clear that the Spanish Crema Catalana was the first by a few hundred centuries. Maybe they can lay claim to the baked custard we would call Creme Brulee as a general term because of the history of Flan. I haven’t brought Flan, another baked custard, into the battle of baked custards because technically the caramel is not burnt on top but rather baked in the bottom of the ramekin or baking dish and flipped over to expose a custard with caramel flowing over the top onto the plate.

Flan has history back to Roman times when they would make sweet custards with excess eggs. Looks like Romand are the winner for who can claim baked custards farthest back in history. Spain kept the flan as part of their culture and over time introduced flavorings from the Moors which lead to the creation of Crema Catalana.

It wasn’t until the 1980s that the history of Creme Brulee was hotly debated when it became a popular dessert on restaurant menus across the U.S.

Creme Brulee may have a long standing history, but this recipe for classic French Creme Brulee is easy to make and is delicious.

Enjoy!

Makes 5 – 6 oz servings but can be adjusted as needed depending on the size of the ramekins you are using. (baking time may vary)The recipe is for vanilla creme brulee but the recipe can be flavored with other ingredients.Substitute the vanilla or in addition to but follow these guidelines –

Total liquid addition – no more than 3 oz
Total puree addition – no more than 1/2 cup

Keep in mind if adding more liquid to the unbaked custard mix the end result of the baked custard will vary with more volume of the additions. Steeping ingredients such as cinnamon stick or lavender in the cream will impart the flavors without adding extra wet ingredients to the custard mix.

Give it a try with other flavorings.