Baked Apple Crème Brûlée Food

HYBRID CARAMEL CREME BRULEE APPLE

Steps:

• For the creme brulee: In a medium saucepan, bring the cream, sugar and vanilla bean to a boil. Add the egg yolks and continue to cook, whisking until slightly thickened. Remove the pan from the heat, strain and set aside for later use.
• For the caramel: Stir together the milk and sugar in a large, heavy-bottomed pot. (Make sure the liquid only goes three-quarters of the way up the sides, as it will froth when the baking soda is added.) Add the vanilla extract, salt, cinnamon stick and vanilla bean with seeds if using. Heat the mixture over medium-high heat, constantly stirring, and bring to a boil, about 15 minutes. Keep your eyes on the pot-- it boils over easily and quickly! Quickly remove from the heat and add the baking soda to the pot. The mixture will rise and become frothy, just keep stirring the mixture.
• Return the pot to medium heat, and stir frequently, about every 10 minutes. Make sure the milk stays at a gentle simmer rather than a raging boil, and stir across the bottom of the pot to make sure the mixture is not scorching. Adjust the heat as needed. Cook until the milk starts to turn golden brown, about 1 hour 30 minutes.
• Remove the cinnamon stick and the vanilla pod. At this point, it will start to thicken quickly, so it's important to keep stirring so the milk doesn't burn on the bottom of the pan. Keep stirring until the mixture is a rich brown and thick enough to coat the back of the spoon, 15 to 30 minutes.
• Cool the sauce slightly and then pour into an airtight container. Store the mixture in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
• Using a melon baller, hollow out the crab apples. Fill the centers with the creme brulee and bake until the creme brulee is set. Chill overnight.
• Reheat the caramel until soft enough for dipping. Dip the stuffed apples using a stick or fork. Chill for 1 hour before serving.

BAKED APPLE CRèME BRûLéE

Steps:

• Sprinkle the raspberries and blueberries into eight, flat 4-ounce ovenproof dishes (the dishes won't be going in the oven, but they must be able to resist the heat of the torch for brûléeing). Heat the cream on medium low with the scraped seeds of the vanilla bean pod (and the pod, too, if you wish) and the lemon zest. If using vanilla bean paste, whisk it into the cream and heat. Heat the cream for about 5 minutes, watching so that it doesn't boil over. Bring a second pot filled with an inch of water to a gentle simmer. In a metal bowl, whisk the egg yolks, sugar and lemon juice together. Place the bowl on top of the pot of simmering water and whisk the egg mixture until it has doubled in volume and is a pale buttery colour, about 3-4 minutes. Remove the bowl from the pot of water. While whisking, slowly pour the heated cream into the whipped egg mixture and return the entire mixture to the pot, stirring with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula over medium heat until the custard thickly coats the back of a spoon, about 4 minutes. Pour the custard through a strainer and then pour it slowly over the berries, stirring the berries slightly just to ensure they are fully coated and covered. Cool the custards for 15 minutes, then chill, uncovered, until set, at least 4 hours. To serve, sprinkle each custard with a thin layer of sugar. Carefully ignite a kitchen butane torch and caramelize the sugar by moving the torch back and forth over the custard, about an inch or 2 away from it. Sprinkle another thin layer of sugar over the first layer and torch it, repeating another 2 times or until the desired caramel layer is achieved. Serve immediately.

APPLE CREME BRULEE

Steps:

• In a medium, heavy-bottom saucepan, combine apples, Crispin, Spartan or Empire Apples can be used, sugar, cinnamon lemon rind and nutmeg.
• Cook over medium heat, until apples softened, stirring occasionally about 10 minutes. Spread this mixture into six, 6 ounce heatproof ramekins, and chill.
• In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks with sugar.
• In the saucepan that you used for the apples, heat cream, until just before boiling, scraping down the apple bits and spices on the pan into the cream mixture.
• Whisking constantly, pour in the egg mixture, and continue stirring until thickened, about 20 minutes.
• Do not let it boil.
• Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.
• Strain evenly onto the chilled apple mixture in each ramekin, and let cool.
• Let cool overnight.
• At least 1 hour before serving, and up to 1 day ahead, sprinkle custards with brown sugar.
• Broil for 1 to 2 minutes until sugar melts and colours.
• Chill until ready to serve.

APPLE CINNAMON CREME BRULEE

Steps:

• Peel and core apples. Cut into bite sized chunks. Cook the apples in the cinnamon, 1/4-cup sugar, and water. Cook for 7 to 8 minutes until tender, but not mushy. Set aside to cool.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
• Whisk egg yolks and 6 tablespoons sugar. Whisk until light yellow. Add vanilla. While whisking, gradually pour in whipping cream.
• Divide apples evenly into 6 ramekins. Ladle cream mixture evenly over the apples. Place ramekins in a baking dish. Pour hot water halfway up to the sides of the ramekins. Bake the custard until set, approximately 40 minutes.
• Keep the ramekins in the water bath and let them cool for about 30 minutes. Remove from water and chill overnight in the refrigerator.
• Sprinkle sugar on top of creme and then torch until golden brown.

BAKED APPLE CRèME BRûLéE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 F.
• Peel the apples about halfway down. Use a melon baller to scoop out the core of each apple (take care not to break through the bottom of the apples) and use the melon baller to scoop out extra apple flesh to make room for the custard, leaving a wall of apple about ¾-inch thick. Place the apples in a baking dish.
• Whisk the sour cream, egg yolks, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg together and pour this into each apple, so that it comes up to the top but without spilling (you may have a little extra filling left, depending on how big your apples are). Pour boiling water around the apples to just come up a ½-inch and then loosely cover the dish with foil. You can insert toothpicks into the apples, if needed, in order to keep the foil from touching the custard.
• Bake the apples for 25 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for about another 10 minutes, until the custard is just set. Cool the apples in the pan, then remove to a plate to chill until set, at least 3 hours. A little juice may come out of the apples as they chill.
• To finish, place the apples on a cooling rack placed over a parchment-lined baking tray. Bring the granulated sugar, lemon juice and 3 Tbsp of water up to a boil over high heat. Continue to boil the sugar, without stirring and occasionally brushing the sides of the pot with water, until the sugar is an amber colour. Remove the pot from the heat and carefully spoon the hot sugar over the apples so that they are evenly and fully coated with a thin layer of the caramelized sugar. Let the sugar set for about 10 minutes, and then lift the apples to a plate to serve.
• The apples should ideally be served after the sugar has set, but this step can be prepared up to 2 hours ahead. The apples themselves can be made a day ahead and stored refrigerated.

APPLE CREME BRULEE CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Make the Crust:.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan. In a bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs and the sugar. Add 4 tablespoons of the butter and mix. If the crumbs seem dry, add the last tablespoon of butter. Press onto the bottom of the springform pan. Press in an even layer.
• Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. The crust should be firm and golden. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack. Cool the crust completely. Once cooled, wrap the outside of the pan in a heavy duty piece of aluminum foil.
• Apples:.
• Toss the apples with the lemon juice.
• Melt the butter in a large skillet. Add the apples and cook for 2 minutes, over medium heat, until the apples begin to soften. Sprinkle with sugar and cook for an additional 2 to 3 minutes, until the apples soften further and begin to turn golden. Add the cream and the nutmeg and lower the heat slightly. Cook until the cream has been absorbed by the apples, about 10 minutes. Transfer the apples to a plate and let cool completely.
• Cheesecake.
• In the bowl of your mixer, beat the cream cheese for a minute or two until it's smooth. Add the sugar and beat at medium speed until smooth, about 2 or 3 minutes. Add the vanilla extract, the salt, the cinnamon and the ginger and beat for another minute. Add the sour cream and cornstarch and beat until blended, another minute or two. Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl after each addition.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Layer the apples over the cooled graham cracker crust. Pour the prepared cheesecake filling over the apples. Place the pan in a large, shallow roasting pan and add hot water to come about halfway up the side of the springform pan. Carefully place the pan in the oven. Bake for between 70 and 80 minutes, until only wobbly in middle.
• Remove the cheesecake from the oven and from the water bath. Peel off the aluminum foil layer and place on a rack to cool completely. Once cool, place in the refrigerator to chill overnight.
• Just before serving, sift brown sugar over top of cheesecake to lightly cover the entire surface. Either using a propane kitchen torch, or by putting the cheesecake under the broiler, melt the sugar to form thin crust. (This step can be omitted and cheesecake is still excellent).

CARAMEL APPLE CREME BRULEE

Steps:

• Place apples in a microwave safe container; cover with water.
• Pad 9x 13 pan with wet towel.
• Cover apples with wax paper and microwave on HIGH for 1 and half minutes; drain well. Don't wash container yet.
• In medium saucepan, combine 3 tablespoons sugar, 3 tablespoons brown sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon; stir in cream.
• Heat over medium heat until bubbles form around sides of pan; stirring constantly. Do NOT let boil.
• Meanwhile bring 4 cups water to low boil. Center oven rack. PREHEAT oven to 325 degrees. Put drained apples back into reserved container and stir in the 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Arrange apples in the bottoms of six 4 ounce ramekins or custard cups. (They will be very full.) Divide the caramel topping between ramekins. I use 1 teaspoon and small rubber spatula and sure that when I put that teaspoon in it is closer to one tablespoon. Set ramekins aside.
• Back to custard: Remove saucepan from the heat; mix vigorously a small amount of the hot mixture into already beaten egg yolks. Temper.
• Slowly return all to the pan; mix vigorously.
• Stir in vanilla. Skim off bubbles.
• Pour over caramel sauced ramekins. Again pop any bubbles.
• Place 5 ramekins in 9X13 inch metal pan, put on oven rack, ladle hot water to pan so it comes halfway up. Careful that none of water splashes on ramekin. Add last ramekin.
• Bake, uncovered, at 325 degrees for 30 to 45 minutes or until centers are just set (mixture will slightly jiggle but center should be quivery like gelatin when cups are gently shaken). And some dark spots occur which gets camouflaged by caramel topping later. Remove from oven-- carefully. Time varies because diameter of ramekin determines thickness.
• Remove ramekins from water bath using tongs after 20 minutes, set on rack to cool to room temperature or 1 hour to avoid condensation.
• Cover and refrigerate overnight, or up to three days.
• For broiling, place ramekins on a baking sheet; let stand at room temperature of 15 minutes or freezer for 5 minutes. Put oven rack as close to broiler as possible. Preheat broiler.Sprinkle remaining sugar not Splenda (or you will have a fire) onto each custard, shake off excess. Broil until sugar is caramelized. Let set for at least 5 minutes before serving. I prefer them chilled for about 30 minutes--love the contrast in texture.
• Or use kitchen butane torch.