Butterscotch Creme Brulee With Caramel Corn Food

BUTTERSCOTCH CREME BRULEE WITH CARAMEL CORN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a medium saucepan, combine the cream, milk, brown sugar and salt. Cook over moderate heat, stirring until the sugar melts and small bubbles appear around the rim. Remove from the heat and whisk in the chocolate until melted. Add the 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoons of vanilla. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks. Gradually whisk in the hot cream mixture, then strain the custard through a fine sieve into a bowl.
• Set eight 1/2-cup ramekins in a roasting pan. Pour the custard into the ramekins and add enough hot water to the pan to reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Cover with foil and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the creme brulees are set but still slightly jiggly in the center. Uncover and let cool in the pan. Then refrigerate until very cold and firm, at least 5 hours.
• Set the ramekins in the freezer for 20 minutes, until icy cold. Preheat the broiler and position a rack 6 inches from the heat source. Place 4 of the ramekins in a baking pan and fill it with ice. Sprinkle about 2 teaspoons of granulated sugar evenly over each of the creme brulees and broil for about 1 minute, until the tops are carmalized. Remove the creme brulees from the ice water and refrigerate just until chilled, about 15 minutes. Repeat with remaining creme brulees. Alternatively, caramelize the sugar with a propane or bruleee torch. Top the creme brulees with the caramel corn and serve.
• Carmel Corn:.
• Active: 15 minutes; Total: 45 minutes.
• Makes 3 1/2 cups.
• Line a large baking sheet pan with lightly buttered parchment paper or foil. In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup and water and bring to a boil. Wash down the sides of the saucepan with a wet pastry brush. Cook the syrup over moderate heat without stirring, until a medium amber caramel color forms, about 7 minutes. Remove from the heat and carefully stir in the butter and salt until melted. Add the popcorn and peanuts and carefully stir to coat all the pieces. Pour the caramel corn onto the buttered sheet pan and spread into an even layer. Drizzle any remaining caramel on top. Let cool for 30 minutes, then break the caramel corn into pieces.

BUTTERSCOTCH PIE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a medium saucepan, stir together the brown sugar, heavy cream and butter. Cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves and the mixture comes to a full boil, becoming thick and brown, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat. Reserve 1 tablespoon of the milk. Slowly add the remaining milk to the sugar mixture.
• Whisk together the cornstarch, egg yolks, vanilla and reserved 1 tablespoon of milk in a medium bowl. Add the cornstarch mixture to the sugar mixture over medium-low heat and cook, stirring constantly, until thick, about 3 minutes. Pour the filling into the prebaked pie crust.
• Make a meringue by beating the egg whites and a pinch of salt with an electric mixer until they begin to set stiff. Add the granulated sugar and continue beating until the whites are stiff and hold peaks. Spread the meringue on top of the pie, taking care to spread it to the edges of the crust. Bake until light brown, about 10 minutes.

CORN CREME BRULEE

Steps:

• Remove the husk from the ears of corn and cut the kernels off. In a nonstick saute pan melt the butter and saute the corn kernels until they cook and have a few brown specks on them.
• In a medium saucepan, heat the cream, milk, and half the Sauteed corn kernels over medium heat, stirring occasionally, just until it comes to a boil. Immediately turn off the heat and set aside to infuse at least 15 minutes. Puree the mixture with a hand blender until smooth.
• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
• In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the granulated sugar. Whisking constantly, gradually pour in the hot cream mixture. Strain the mixture into a pitcher. Sprinkle the remaining corn kernels into 8 (6 to 8 ounce) ovenproof ramekins. Pour the cream/corn mixture into the bowls and arrange in a hot water bath. Bake at 300 degrees F, in the center of the oven until almost set but still a bit soft in the center, 30 to 40 minutes. The custard should "shimmy" a bit when you shake the pan; it will firm up more as it cools. Remove from the water bath and let cool 15 minutes. Tightly cover each bowl with plastic wrap, making sure the plastic does not touch the surface of the custard. Refrigerate at least 2 hours. (Or refrigerate until ready to serve, up to 24 hours.)
• Preheat a broiler to very hot (or fire up your kitchen torch). Uncover the chilled custards. Pour as much sugar as will fit onto the top of one of the custards. Pour off the excess sugar onto the next custard. Repeat until all the custards are coated. Discard any remaining sugar. Place the bowls on a baking sheet or in a roasting pan and broil until the sugar is melted and well browned, 1 to 2 minutes. Or brown them with a blowtorch. Let cool 1 minute before serving.

BUTTERSCOTCH CREME BRULEE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
• Split vanilla bean down the middle and scrape out the insides. Heat heavy cream, half-and-half, and vanilla bean (all of it, including the husk) on medium-high until it just comes to a boil. Remove from heat, cover, and allow to rest for 15 minutes.
• Whisk egg yolks and 2/3 cup of sugar together with butterscotch liqueur. Gradually stream some of the hot cream and vanilla mixture into the bowl while constantly stirring. Keep stirring to keep egg from scrambling. Continue until both mixtures are fully incorporated.
• Pour mixture through a fine mesh strainer and equally divide between 4 ramekins. Place the ramekins in a deep baking pan. Add enough water to come to halfway up the side of the ramekins.
• Cook in oven for 45 minutes, until the surface is set but still trembling when shaken.
• Allow to cool slightly, then move to refrigerator to cool for at least 2 hours and up to 3 days.
• When ready to finish, remove from refrigerator and place at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. Distribute 1 tablespoon of sugar on the surface of each ramekin. Gently rotate and tap the sides of each ramekin if necessary.
• Using a brulee torch set to the highest setting, gradually melt the sugar on the surface of each ramekin. The sugar will bead up and turn to liquid form; move the torch to another area if the sugar starts to blacken. Some blackening is desirable. After going over the surface, some unmelted sugar will remain. Go back over these areas with the torch until they're melted, but stop if it turns black.
• Allow to sit for a few minutes before serving.

BUTTERSCOTCH POTS DE CRèME

Steps:

• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 300°F.
• Bring cream, muscovado sugar, and salt just to a simmer in a small heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved.
• Bring water and Demerara sugar to a boil in a 2-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until browned and bubbly, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and carefully add cream mixture (mixture will bubble up and steam), whisking until combined.
• Whisk together yolks and vanilla in a large bowl, then add hot cream mixture in a stream, whisking. Pour custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a 1-quart glass measure. Skim off any foam with a spoon.
• Divide custard among ramekins. Arrange ramekins in a small roasting pan and bake in a hot water bath , uncovered, until custards are set around edges but still tremble slightly in centers, about 40 minutes. Transfer ramekins to a rack with tongs and cool to warm or room temperature. Pots de crème will continue to set as they cool.
• *Available at specialty foods shops and Dean & DeLuca (800-999-0306).