Approximately 6 servings
Ingredients:
- 2 cups Heavy Cream
- 1 Vanilla Bean
- 2 ½ oz Sugar
- 6 Egg Yolks
- Orange Peel
- Splash Grand Marnier (or any other flavoring you desire)
- Additional Sugar for topping
Directions:
- Cut the vanilla bean in half lengthwise and scrape out the vanilla with a knife.
- Add the cream to a pot with orange peel (1 peel of orange for subtle flavor, additional peel if you want a more pungent flavor), scraped vanilla bean, and the bean itself.
- Place the pot on medium heat and remove from heat as soon as it comes to a boil. Cover and allow the flavors to infuse for 10 minutes. Remove the vanilla bean and orange peel.
**Don’t throw away the vanilla bean! You can dry it and use it to flavor your sugar to make vanilla sugar.
- Meanwhile, separate the yolks from your eggs. Whisk sugar into the egg yolks until the sugar is completely dissolved.
- Once the cream is ready, temper it with the egg mixture. Tempering means that you slowly add the cream to the eggs while whisking to ensure that the eggs don’t scramble. Do not over whisk, b/c you don’t want foamy bubbles on your crème brulee.
- Mix in about a splash of grand marnier to the mixture. You can add more or less to your taste.
- Strain the mixture into a bowl to remove any lumps that may have formed.
- Pour the mixture into ramekins/molds. I suggest not to use a deep mold or you won’t get as consistent texture throughout.
- Place a large baking dish in the oven (big enough to fit your molds) and place your molds in there. Pour hot water around the molds to just below the rims of the molds. Be very careful not to get any water inside the molds. That's why it's best to pour the water in the baking dish after it's already in the oven.
- Bake the custards in a 275- 300 degrees oven until it is just set in the center. It should have slight movement like jello when jiggled. Do not touch the top, or the sugar will not caramelize on that spot and you'll have a finger print. While baking, if you see bubbles forming, turn the temperature down slightly.
- Once cooked, let cool at room temperature, and place in the refrigerator.
- Once ready to serve, pour sugar onto the tops, and shake off excess. The entire tops should be evenly coated in sugar.
- Using a torch, gently brown the top of each mold, moving in a circular motion for even coloring. Start from a distance at first to start melting the sugar, and then move in closer for caramelization.
**You can alternatively brown the top in the broiler, but this is not recommended as it might affect the texture of the cream.
- You can serve immediately or cool in the refrigerator for 15 minutes and then serve. It’s your preference, but be careful not to leave it in the refrigerator for too long or the sugar will start to dissolve and loose it's hardened texture.
