Creme Brulee

My comfort food is creme brulee.

The thick, creamy vanilla custard with the crispy sugar top.

It's my undoing.

My love in food.

How simple it is yet, complex in flavor and texture.

I first tried Creme Brulee at a Restaurant in downtown Atlanta. It was Lindsai's Graduation and her mother had taken us out for lunch at her hotel. The restaurant is currently out of business do to construction, but they had the most decedent vanilla been creme brulee I had ever tasted.

Each bite was filled with vanilla seeds and the creamed texture melted on my tongue better than even softened butter. I almost licked the bowl it was so good.

Since then I have tried many variations on the recipe.

One at BoneFish Grill, known for their intensely flavored Fish Entrees, but not the best Creme Brulee.

Others I've tried have been less than memorable, tasking more like curdled cream than a dessert. The top is not crisp enough so the cream seams less dramatically smooth, the cream isn't silky like it'd been beaten into submission by a practiced professional. And some don't even add essential dessert ingredients like, salt, or butter. or even Vanilla Extract!

Haagen Dazs has a Creme Brulee Ice Cream that is so hard to find in my area that when I do track it down I buy two cartons, one to eat and one to stash in the back of the freezer for that craving that won't quite. Theirs is quintessential Haagen Dazs, smooth, creamy, free from frozen imperfection. I often feel like one of the women from Sex & The City, cheating on my sexual conquest with a spoon and carton. The caramelized sugar swirl is just enough to remind you that the flavor is "Creme Brulee" and not "Sinfully Vanilla". This is the sophisticated Creme Brulee Ice Cream.

Ben and Jerry have their own Creme Brulee which I think was made just for people like me. Those who love flavor and sugar and ice cream but sometimes can't chose with to have first. The

Carmel swirl is always full of chucks of sugar while other spots are simply syrup mixed in. I find it both annoying and interesting to have to chew the sugar in my ice cream. But Ben & Jerry's are not for the advanced foodie types.

My most recent experience was at the Grape.

This place is known mostly for its wine selection and relaxzing atmosphere. I personally don't relish in paying over $10 for a glass of wine, or even $5 for a taste that I might not enjoy, but they have to justify opening those $30-80 bottles.

On the menu is a trio of Creme Brulee. The dishes are very small, but rewarding in taste and texture. (Sorry no photo, the table was too dark and I'm working on my camera skills) I started with the traditional Creme. The texture was spot on, as if the milk came out of the cow already flavored and all they had to do was heat and eat. There was just enough sugar on each to make a crust without deterring from the actual dessert.

Next I ventured into the unknown. Olive Oil Creme Brulee.

It was...an adjustment. I can gather from my expert taste buds that they replaced the butter in the recipe with Olive Oil. It wasn't a bad idea. The cream seemed more grainy, almost curdled like cottage cheese instead of the usual seamless custard but it was still soft and palatable.

I wouldn't suggest the olive oil for anyone trying Creme for the first time because the "Vegan" taste might be off putting, but if you love to taste as much as I do, you won't be that bothered.

Last was the Dulce De Leche Creme Brulee.

I saved the sweetest and the best for last.

Silky, smooth, almost like butter. It literally melted in my mouth. Yes it was very sweet and I couldn't see myself eating a regular portion by myself without a very healthy, savory meal. But the Creme was scrumptious none the less. It was more of the type of taste you would expect from ice cream than custard, the flavor was so boldly sweet that I had to stop eating and let my taste buds adjust.

Diabetic beware. I don't know what the sugar content was, but I can assure you that any amount of insulin will not be able to help you with this one.

I dare not say it was too sweet. I've make icings and cakes sweeter than that, but it was definitely more than your average sugar content. If anyone knows how Dulce De Leche is made, you understand that sugar and cream are cooked to make a caramel colored almost fudgy spread. I like to think of it as Spanish Caramel. (I think I'll name a cupcake after that)

I got a second opinion on this decedent flavor and the only response I got was an eyes closed satisfied moan of enjoyment.

If there were a recipe I could steel from this place it would be for the Dulce Creme Brulee. The recipe that follow is one I picked up off the Internet, not the one from the Grape.

Dulce De Leche Crème Brulée
350 ml double cream

125 ml whole milk

3 tablespoons dulce de leche

6 large free-range egg yolks

50 g caster sugar
Serves: 6 People
Preheat the oven to 140 °C. Put the cream and milk in a saucepan and heat slowly to scalding point, then stir in the dulce de leche. Beat the egg yolk with the sugar until pale and creamy, then pour the cream onto the egg yolk, one third at a time, whisking well. Pour the mixture into an overproof dish, and bake for 45 minutes until it is slightly set on top. Remove from the oven and leave to cool. Keep in the fridge for two hours before serving. Sprinkle some caramelised sugar on top and serve as soon as possible.

Dulce De Leche
1 can of Sweetened Condensed Milk (I used Eagle brand)

There are several methods of making dulce de leche from a simple can of condensed milk, but I think this method is the simplest:

1. Remove all the label and paper from the outside of the can. Place in a medium saucepan and fill with water until the can is about 1/2 ~ 2/3 submerged.
2. Heat the saucepan on medium-high heat until the water starts to boil. When it’s boiling, reduce heat to low and make sure that the water is constantly simmering but does not overflow.
3. Boil in this manner for 2-3 hours… the longer you boil, the thicker your dulce de leche sauce will be. Flip over the can with tongs every 45 minutes. Also make sure that the water never runs out… if the water starts evaporating and the saucepan is nearly empty, the can WILL explode! Make sure to always keep the can 1/2 or 2/3 submerged!
4. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.