Dilbert1234567

So I’ve got a problem with my Crème Brule, after I make it I stick it in the fridge and after about a day, the melted sugar gets wet and dissolve. Anyone have this problem, and better yet, have a fix?

Just for some more background, I make crème Brule in bulk, usually a few dozen ramekins worth so I have to use a propane torch, a butane torch takes way to long, and does cause the same problem. I try to serve them with in the day, but some times my lack of free time means I have to store them for a few days, and they always turn out tasting great, but soggy.

Please help my sweet tooth.

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maleficent

Dont put the sugar on the top and torch it until you're ready to serve it would be my suggestion.

Short of that-- can humidity in the fridge be adjusted? I don't know.... but that'd be the next thing to check...

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Charlatan

This is exactly right.

You want the carmelized sugar to be warm when you serve it. The custard that is below should keep for some time in the fridge. Do the final prep when you are ready to serve.

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Dilbert1234567

That was my thought, but I bring these to campus all the time, and well, public safety is not all that enthusiastic about me having a torch on campus.

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maleficent

i have no idea how it woudl effect the taste.. but you might try a thin layer of cornstarch or arrowroot on top of the custard, and below the sugar... to absorb the moisture.. Or just do a really really really thick layer of burnt sugar

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cellophanedeity

Since this is here...

How does one make creme brule? I love it, but have yet to make it.

fresnelly

On a train in France, the dining car served pre-packaged creme brulee made by Bonne Mamman, a fine quality preserves company.

The custard came without a torched topping, but with a little packet of brown sugar instead. You sprinkle the sugar on top, let it settle in, and it will sort of carmelize after a minute.

It's not exactly the same experience, but we were pleasantly surprised. It helped that the custard was excellent. Give it a shot!

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maleficent

It's actually quite easy to make...

Mal's Creme Brulee
6 large egg yolks
6 tablespoons sugar
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
1 1/2 cups whipping cream

6 teaspoons raw sugar

Preheat oven to 325°F.

Beat egg yolks and sugar in medium bowl to blend. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean. Gradually whisk the cream into the sugar. Divide mixture among 6 - 3/4 cup ramekins.

Arrange dishes in baking pan.

Pour enough hot water into pan to come halfway up sides of dishes.

Bake custards about 40 minutes until the custard is set. (a sharp knife inserted comes out clean)

Remove the pan from the oven and remove custard cups from the water.

Allow custards to cool before placing in the refrigerator. Chill well.

Just before serving
Sprinkle 1 teaspoon sugar atop each custard.
Torch the sugar til it melts, and you've got the desired degree of doneness...

Be very careful NOT to touch the sugar - it's super hot.... and will burn yourself badly.. wait a little bit and the sugar will harden to like glass on the custard -

(you can do this in the broiler, if you put the custard cups in a pan of ice.. and watch it carefully)

I have a variation that I do in the fall, for thanksgiving that adds pumpkin to the custard and cinnamin instead of vanilla and brown sugar for the brulee.. it's really tasty.

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cellophanedeity

Thanks Mal! sounds delicious... especially your fall version! mmm!

maleficent

it's a very impressive dish - and pretty hard to ruin... (I need desserts like that.. and it's ever so cool to pull out the blow torch

Once you master custard (which is really just eggs, sugar, and cream) you can add any kind of ingredient that suits your fancy - like chocolate for those of that addiction.. or espresso... really any kind of flavoring

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snowy

Creme brulee is surprisingly easy. I make it for my mom on special days--her birthday, Mother's Day, etc--as it is her favorite dessert (I bought her ramekins just for creme brulee)

This is the recipe I use (courtesy Emeril Lagasse):
From: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/reci..._20021,00.html

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Charlatan

Get a small blow torch, it will fit in your back pack.

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edmos1

yeah super easy to make, and always impressive.
re: answer, can you brulee' it before you leave in the morning, this might make is crispier, other than that I would say thicker sugar layer too?

Dilbert1234567

Each of the 36 ramekins had 8 layers of sugar on them, it took most of my Sunday to do it, and there is not enough time to do it in the morning; as for thickness, its somewhere between 3/4 cm and 1 cm thick.

I’m sure they are fully cooked, when I start to add the sugar the first time, it sets on top and is not observed. I’m starting to think that moving it in and out of the fridge between layers is the cause, condensation on the side or something.



As for making it:

Dilbert’s Recipe

24 egg yolks
4 pints of heavy cream (not heavy whipping cream)
1 cup of sugar
2 Vanilla bean\
1 tbs vanilla extract
1 tbs almond extract
¼ cup Irish cream

Mix the sugar, egg yolks, Irish cream in a bowl.
Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into a large pot, twice as deep as the amount of cream. Add cream, and the 2 extracts. Chop the remaining vanilla bean into large chunks, COUNT THE CHUNKS. Add chunks to the cream. Slowly bring to a boil, when it starts to boil, continually stir it and wait until it doubles in size, turn off the heat and let it reduce back to its normal size, place back on the heat and wait for it to double and then remove from the heat. This drives more water out and helps it set up thicker. Allow it to cool for 5 minutes with out a lid, and then add a lid for another 20 minutes. Heat over to 300 F. Bring some water to a boil in a small pot, and get a deep backing dish, line with ramekins. After the 20 minutes, slowly add the egg yolk mix to it while constantly stirring; add equal parts to all the ramekins you can fit into the baking dish, pour the boiling water into the backing dish carefully not to get it into a ramekin, cover with foil and add to the 300 F oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, stick a knife into one, if it comes out clean its done, remove ramekins and place new ramekins in, and repeat cooking until all is used up.

Allow the custards to cool, and then add to the fridge.

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maleficent

ooooh that sounds really good... do you have a gadget for seperating the eggs? and do you merangue with all those egg whites left over?

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Grasshopper Green

I have no suggestions...hubby made creme brulee once and it was gone before this problem had a chance to manifest...mmmm...creme brulee.....

I'm going to have to ask him to make your fall version in a few months, mal!

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CaliLivChick

I've tried putting too much sugar on (followed the recipe the first time I made it... it called for 3 tsp of sugar on top) once, and it takes a long time for all of the sugar to melt... by the time the last of the sugar melts, the rest of the sugar has burned, and doesn't taste good. I would second the suggestion to taking a little torch to school (would you be willing to go butane for just a few servings?), and a bag of sugar, for your school ones.

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Dilbert1234567

I put just a tiny coat and melt it, then a do a second layer, and then I toss it in the fridge and let it cool, and repeat 4 times. if I get to thick a layer of un melted sugar (I spill to much) I just tip it upside down and shake the extra sugar off.

i'll just talk with public safety about it, and make sure they are cool with a big one, the small one is hard to use, it takes several minutes to do a single one.


I use my hands to separate the eggs, it’s messy, but it goes quick. Some times I make a meringue thing, I spread as much meringue as I can make onto some wax paper and toss it in the oven so it hardens, then I top it with a layer of whipped cream and fresh berries. then slice it like a pizza.

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maleficent

oooh i think i have to adopt you or something... that sounds yummy...

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Dilbert1234567

if you're ever on the central coast of california, give me a shout.

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snowy

Sounds a bit like a play on a pavlova.

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3Z3VH

I find it funny how many beginning cooks are so scared to touch the ingredients while cooking.

I use my hands almost as much as I use utensils. I even mix my cookie dough with my hands because I hate doing it with a spoon. Separating eggs with my hands had always been the only way to do it for me, I was dumbfounded the first time I saw an actual egg separator. I didn't know what it was for.

Dilbert1234567

Yeah me too, it’s not that I like to get messy, but I like to get messy. I beat my meats with my bare hands too. Ok that sounds dirty... um I tenderized my meat... that’s dirty too. Smack my... wait no... Um... any time I get a cut of meat I need tenderized I use the flat part of my hands to tenderize it. I think that is as unambiguous as I can get.

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snowy

At one of my jobs the kitchen manager and I are the only people who are unafraid to do things with bare hands.

Just yesterday I was mixing up some macaroni salad (about 100lbs of macaroni salad, no joke) with my bare hands. I think in some ways, with certain dishes, you can tell by touch when you're done, especially with mixing. How am I going to be able to tell that with a spoon or while wearing gloves?

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3Z3VH

Your hands must have been DELICIOUS !

Ripsaw

Giving the creme brulee a shot tomorrow, since we have some leftover egg whites from the cake project. In addition, the 'sweat shop' is going to be putting out a lobster bisque, steamed ground turkey with salted fish. Work work work.

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Dilbert1234567

i realy REALY hope you ment egg yolks. you need egg yolks to make creme brule. eggwhites would make it taste nasty. (except for the small amount i recomend adding)

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maleficent

left over egg whites make for good merangue..... or however you spell it - or angel food cake..

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Ripsaw

Whoops. Musta been drunk. Yep, those yellow things.

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Ripsaw

Came out o-k. Needs work. I used the Emeril recipe, but unfortunately, I didn't use boiling water in the pan. 45 minutes is too short and the temperature was too low because of the cooler water to set the custards. They came out more soupy than anything else. Then I added a bit too much sugar for the caramelization. Still very tasty. I'm storing them in ramekins, sans sugar, in a large tupper-ware container. I also have about a quart of custard, unbaked, which is also in the fridge. I'm going to try to re-set the four remaining previously baked custards.

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Dilbert1234567

its hard to heat them a second time to cook the inside, the top usually curdles for me, I just leave them soupy if they were not done and i did not notice, before you turn off the oven, stick a sharp knife in the top, if it comes out clean its done, it is has stuff on it, its not.

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majik_6

Your recipe sounds about like mine.

Ironically, most of the times that I've made creme brulee was in a school (my old highschool) and I used a large blowtorch (the machine shop was run by the teacher in the commercial kitchen, so we borrowed a clean one from him). There was no real security there, though, so no one said anything.

That being said, if you're able to take a torch with you I'd REALLY recommend not putting the sugar on until right before you serve.

I usually cooked my custards in advance, chilled them until they were very firm, then as they were ordered (I usually catered banquets that had a buffet style dessert line) I'd pour on turbinado sugar, shake the ramekin to distribute evenly, pour off the excess sugar and brulee with the torch. Any unused custards were sugar-free when they went back in the cooler.

Glad to see someone else that's willing to get into the food with their hands. And you're right, IMHO kitchen torches SUCK for creme brulee!

Hope you can get this figured out!

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maleficent

there are some that aren't bad - mine i like - it's also really good for bruleeing figs...

it's not a flame thrower... but i'm kinda dangerous with fire anyhow so...

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absofsteel

Just reading responses at random here & there...for my two cents worth I recommend a double application of sugar i.e.(once over with the sugar, shake it about to distribute evenly {very important} hit it with the torch and repeat with a second layer of sugar [which will want to slide off the first layer of caramelized sugar]...I have been cranking them out by the thousands for literally years & years this way with great results! and a side note; during the holidays when egg nog is plentiful, try it as a substitute for the heavy cream in any of the aforementioned brulee recipes.

I won't even bother sharing my recipe for brulee custard here because it almost really does not matter. The fact is these formulas posted on this thread so far all look like they would work up just fine...those with a lower yolk to cream ratio simply cook longer (and will also be smoother textured)

Dilbert1234567

actualy i do 5 to 10 layers normaly, usualy to get to about 1/4 to 3/8 inches thick.

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anyaslilbro

If you are doing them that thick you can always just make caramel disks to go on top of the ramekens before hand and place them on top when ready to serve. To make them you need the ramekens that you are going to use. You want to put the sugar into a deep pan with just enough water to give it a "wet sand" consistency. Place it on high, brushing the side with water(don't use a plastic based brush...it WILL melt into your sugar) to keep any crystals from forming. While this is going on you should make sure the sides and bottom of the ramekens are WELL greased. When the sugar has reached a nice honey color you need to shock the pot in an ice bath VERY QUICKLY to stop the cooking(otherwise it will burn and the smell sucks!) If it hardens too much reheat it till it is pourable. Pour the caramel into the ramekens to make a very thin layer and let them harden. If you greased them well enough they should pop right out. You can then save them to place on top of the baked custards. You can also make all sorts of shapes by using cookie cutters(the metal ones) instead of ramekens as the molds.


Anyways, this way you can control the thickness and not use a blowtorch at school.

hope this was helpful

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