• Almond Citrus Ricotta Cake

• Apple Cinnamon Crostata

• Apple Cobbler

• Arroz Con Leche

• Bacon Caramel Sundae

• Bacon Fat Spice Cookies

• Better-Than-Fig Newtons

• Black Bean Brownies

• Black Rice Pud

• Blackberry Frangipani Tart

• Blueberry and Nut Clafoutis

• Buttermilk Cake with Chocolate Glaze

• Buttermilk Lemon Pudding Cake

• Butterscotch Nut Meringue Squares

• Calvados Sorbet

• Calvados Tarte Tatin

• Candied Grapefruit Peel

• Cannel's de Bordeaux

• Cantucci

• Caramel Ice Cream

• Caramels with Fleur de Sel, Grey Salt or Pink Salt

• Carrot Cake Cookies

• Carrot-Parsnip Cake

• Cavallucci

• Chai Buttermilk Pie

• Chocolate Beet Cake with Cream Cheese Drizzle

• Chocolate Chunk Quinoa Cookies

• Chocolate Coconut Scones

• Chocolate Croissant Bread Pudding with Bourbon Sauce

• Chocolate Hazelnut Pudding Cake

• Chocolate Walnut Puddle Cookies

• Chocolate, Orange and Walnut Fruitcake with Chocolate Glaze

• Classic Coconut Cream Pie

• Classic Creme Brulee

• Coconut Meringue Bark

• Cornmeal Pecan Butter Biscuits

• Crazyweed's Red Beet Rice Pudding

• Creamy Coconut Cake

• Creme Brulee

• Crepes

• Double Lemon Pound Cake

• Earl Grey Truffles

• Ensaimadas

• Eton Mess

• Fig Clafouti with Rosemary

• Fig-Cranberry Matrimonial Slice

• Flemish Apple Pudding with Maple Cream Sauce

• Frangipani

• Grandma Woodall's Never-fail Pastry

• Grenadine Candy Apple

• Grilled Apples

• Honey Chocolate Cupcakes with Honey Ganache

• Honey Vanilla Panna Cotta

• Honeycomb Mould after Laurie Colwin and Jane Grigson

• Impossible Coconut Pie

• Julie Van Rosendaal's Sauted Apple Galette with a White Cheddar Crust

• Lemon and Blueberry Trifle

• Lemon Caramel Sauce with Spiced Figs

• Lemon Pecan Tea Cakes

• Lemon Poppy Seed Whipped Cream Pound Cake

• Lemongrass Buttermilk Pie

• Lemongrass Caramels

• Maple Pumpkin Ice Cream

• Mascarpone Panna Cotta with Honey Roasted Figs

• Merlot Chocolate Cake

• Miascia Mixed Fruit Tart

• Miascia Mixed Fruit Tart.html

• Mini Pavlovas

• My Mother s Bread and Butter Pudding

• Oooh Baby Raw Spiced Brownies

• Panettone Bread and Butter Pudding

• Panforte

• Pear Clafouti with Honeyed Goat Cheese and Pinot Noir Reduction

• Personal Apple and Blueberry Galettes

• Pink Peppercorn and Orange Tea Fruitcake

• Plum Galette

• Polenta Pound Cake with Caramelized Citrus Salad

• Pomegranate Gelato

• Post-Modern Fruitcake

• Prosecco Zabaglione

• Pumpkin Creme Bruee

• Quinoa Chocolate Cake

• Rasoi Kheer

• Raspberry Browned Butter Tart

• Real Lollipops

• Ricciarelli

• Rice Pudding Brulee

• Roasted Fig Fro-Yo

• Roasted Peach Sour Cream Ice Cream

• Roasted Rhubarb and Strawberry Ice Cream

• Rose Petal Pie

• Rustic Apple Almond Galette with Caramel Sauce

• Salted Butter Break-Ups

• Salted Caramel and Chocolate Tart

• Shelley's Nice Rice Pudding

• Spiced Fig and Orange Caramel

• Spiced Pear Cobbler Cake

• Spicy Cashews

• Sponge Toffee

• Squash and Pear Morning Glory Muffins

• Sticky Toffee Pudding with Butterscotch Sauce

• Sticky Toffee Pudding with Mascarpone Cream

• Sticky Toffee-Cranberry Pudding

• Strawberry Meringue Nests

• Sunken Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Fool

• Sweet Coconut-Lemongrass Risotto

• Sweet Mascarpone Risotto with Pomegranate Syrup

• Sweet Preserved Roasted Lemons

• Thai Sweet Sticky Rice Dessert

• The Quintessential Peanut Butter Cookie

• The Very Best Peanut Butter Cookies

• Tomato Apple Cake

• Yeast Biscuits

Classic Creme Brulee

March/April 2011

Lissen up! It’s not necessary to buy crème brûlée pre-made or in tetra packs that you pour and bake. It’s just cream, sugar and egg yolks, whisked together in approximately one minute. The key is the bain-marie – a French term for hot water bath, which allows the custards to cook gently and evenly. Although it sounds fancy, a bain-marie is no more than a baking dish with water in it. If you don’t want to brûlée – broil or torch – the tops, omit the sugar topping and call it a pot de crème. Doesn’t “pudding” sound fancier in French?

5 large egg yolks

1/3 c. sugar

2 c. whipping cream or 18% coffee cream

1/2 t. pure vanilla

sugar, for sprinkling on top

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Whisk together the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl. Whisk in the cream and vanilla.

Divide the cream mixture among 4 to 6 small ramekins, and place them in a roasting pan or a 9”x13” pan. Fill the pan with enough water to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins, and bake for 30 to 45 minutes, or until the crème brûlée is set but still slightly jiggly in the middle. Take the ramekins out of the oven, let them cool to room temp, then refrigerate them for a few hours, or overnight, until nice and cold.

Sprinkle an even layer of sugar over each dish and caramelize the sugar with a torch, or transfer the ramekins to a cookie sheet and place them under the broiler in the oven for about 2 minutes, just until the sugar is caramelized and golden. Turn the sheet around if you need to help the tops caramelize evenly. Refrigerate the crèmes again, or just let them sit on the countertop while you eat dinner or make coffee, just until the sugar is set and crackly. Serves 4 to 6.