Note: Crème Brûlée is a truly ancient classic dessert. According to food writer Gabriella Gershenson, the first printed recipe dates to 1691 and is essentially identical to “modern” crème brûlée. The recipe is easier than you’d think, but success is in the details: If the custard is cooked at too high a temperature, the eggs will curdle. It requires close watching and an oven thermometer. Cover the custard in plastic wrap before chilling to prevent the formation of a tough skin, and chill it very thoroughly before attempting to caramelize the crust. Sprinkle with a generous amount of sugar, and with the torch first liquefy the sugar into a uniform layer, and finally caramelize the topping.

Time: 6 hours

Hands-on: 20 min

Difficulty: ●●○○

Yields About 6 servings, 3/4 cup each

What you’ll need

• 8 egg yolks
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 Tbsp cornstarch
• 1 Tbsp best-quality vanilla extract or paste
• 1 quart heavy whipping cream
• Brown sugar for crunchy, caramelized topping

Cooking Instructions

1. Place six ramekins in a 13X9X2-inch pan. Preheat the oven to 300 °F (and check on it with your oven thermometer a couple of times during steps 2-5 to verify the actual temperature is between 300 and 325 °F). Boil about three cups of water in a tea kettle or something similar.
2. In a medium bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugar three minutes, and then beat in the cornstarch and vanilla extract.
3. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, heat the cream just to a simmer.
4. With the mixer running on low speed in the egg mixture, very slowly add the hot cream to the egg mixture, just a tablespoonful at a time, to prevent cooking and curdling the eggs. Continue to add the cream slowly, in a thin stream, until all has been incorporated.
5. Fill the ramekins, and place them in a rimmed baking pan. Place the pan in the oven, and then pour boiling water into the larger pan, so the water level is about halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
6. Bake about 30-35 minutes, or until the custards are set but still a bit jiggly in the center, and just barely golden on top. To safely remove them from the oven, use a tongs in one hand and a large, strong spatula in the other hand. Then remove the larger pan of hot water and pour it in the sink (or better yet, let it cool first in the oven.)
7. Transfer the ramekins to a wire rack, then immediately cover each with plastic wrap so that the plastic touches the surface, and chill until firm, about 4 to 6 hours.
8. Sprinkle the surface of the custards evenly with brown sugar, and crystallize the sugar with your torch, moving the torch smoothly back and forth across the surface for even browning. Alternate method: put your oven rack on its highest position and pre-heat the broiler. Put all the ramekins on a baking sheet and place under the broiler for just a few minutes, watching constantly to prevent burning.

Finishing Touches:

Serve with a garnish of fresh seasonal fruit, or drizzled artfully with honey or caramel sauce.

Suggested Mead Pairings:

Utopian: Our most exclusive and premium offering, wildflower honey mead aged in previously used Buffalo Trace Bourbon/ Sam Adams barrels for 5 years
Sensual: Certified Organic Brazilian Wildflower mead
Seduction: Coffee, Vanilla, Chocolate mead
Virtue: Apple Cyser aged in repurposed Utopian barrels
Last Apple: Last of the season apples aged in bourbon barrels
Heather: Scottish Heather honey aged 6 years in used Utopian barrels
Double barrel aged Apple Heather: Blended Blossom (apple cyber) with heather aged in 2 barrels for 6 years
Double barrel aged Heather: Heather honey aged in Chattanooga Whiskey barrels

This recipe was taken from The Art of Mead Tasting and Food Pairing by Chrissie Manion Zaerpoor. Visit www.meadandfood.com to get your copy.