Crème Brûlée with Chocolate Ganache
Crème brûlée is one of my treasured desserts for its minimalism and elegance. Whenever I order it at a restaurant, I quietly anticipate the blissful feeling of cracking its sugar coating just before digging into the velvety center. I mastered the art of getting every morsel into my mouth at a wine bar in the St. Germain district of Paris, where the pastry chef squeezed it in a thin shot glass with velvety chocolate on the bottom. He served it with a long, lean spoon.
But there’s nothing petite about the crème brûlée I bake. Instead, I make it for the masses as a prized party trick for hungry guests, preparing the custard ahead of time and torching the sugar just before serving.
Ingredients
Serves 4
Crème Brûlée:
½ cup heavy cream
5 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
4 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups heavy cream
1/3 cup granulated sugar
Boiling water
2 tablespoon turbinado sugar (coarse brown sugar)
Process
In a small saucepan, heat the cream over medium heat until it begins to bubble. Remove from heat and add the chocolate chips, stirring until well combined. Divide the mixture into four (6-ounce) ramekins and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 325 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks and vanilla until thickened. In a saucepan over medium heat, cook the cream and sugar until bubbles form around the pan edge. Stir until the sugar is dissolved, about 3 minutes. Gradually pour the cream mixture into the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Strain into a clean bowl. Remove the ramekins from the refrigerator and place in a shallow baking dish just large enough to hold them.
Pour the custard into the ramekins over the chocolate, filling to within ½ inch of the tops. Carefully pour boiling water into the baking pan until it reaches halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Carefully transfer the baking pan with the ramekins to the oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the custards are slightly jiggly, and a skin has formed on the tops. Let cool in the pan until you can safely transfer the ramekins to a cooling rack.
Sprinkle the turbinado sugar over the custards. Using a kitchen torch, wave the flame over the sugar until it melts and becomes golden. Let the sugar cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Note: You can make the custards ahead and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 days; sprinkle with sugar and torch just before serving.
