Easy Saffron Creme Brulee Food

BRULEED SAFFRON CUSTARDS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Bring a kettle or pot of water to a boil. Place six 1/2-cup baking dishes in a large baking or roasting pan.
• In a medium saucepan, combine milk, cream, saffron, and cardamom. Heat over medium just until mixture begins to bubble around the edge of the pot, 7 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat and let steep at least 20 minutes.
• Whisk together egg yolks with 1/3 cup sugar and salt in a large bowl. While whisking constantly, add a small ladle of hot milk mixture to the yolks. Repeat process until all of the milk mixture has been incorporated. Strain mixture through a fine sieve into a large liquid measuring cup.
• Divide custard evenly among baking dishes. Place pan in oven and add enough boiling water to pan to reach halfway up the sides of the dishes. Cover baking pan with parchment-lined foil and bake until custards are just set (they should tremble slightly in center when shaken), 30 to 40 minutes.
• Using tongs, carefully remove custards from hot water bath to a wire rack and let cool for 30 minutes. Refrigerate, covered with plastic wrap, at least 2 hours and up to 3 days.
• Sprinkle each custard with 1/2 tablespoon sugar. Working with one at a time, hold a handheld kitchen 1 to 2 inches above surface and move flame in a circular motion until sugar bubbles, turns amber, and forms a smooth surface. Serve immediately.

THE BEST CREME BRULEE

Steps:

• Arrange a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 300 degrees F. Line a large heavy roasting pan (a turkey roasting pan works great) with a clean kitchen towel and place 4 six-ounce ramekins on top of the towel spaced a few inches apart.
• Heat the cream in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Using the back of a paring knife, scrape the vanilla seeds from both halves of the pod. Add the seeds and pod to the cream. Whisk in the salt and 3 tablespoons of the sugar and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat.
• Vigorously whisk the yolks and 3 more tablespoons of the sugar in a large bowl until pale yellow and very thick and creamy, about 2 minutes. Alternatively, you can use an electric mixer on high speed and beat until pale yellow and very thick and creamy, about 1 minute.
• Whisking the yolks constantly, add a couple of teaspoons at a time from 1 cup of the hot cream, then increase to a steady stream until the cream is fully incorporated. (Don't pour too much hot cream at once or you'll end up with scrambled eggs.) The yolks are now tempered. Whisk the tempered yolks back into the remaining hot cream until combined. Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a large measuring cup or medium pitcher for easier pouring; discard the vanilla pods.
• Skim the foam off the top of the custard by placing a clean paper towel on top and lightly pressing down so it touches the surface and absorbs some of the liquid. This will make for a completely smooth and silky custard. Fill the ramekins with the custard, about 3/4 cup per ramekin.
• Carefully pour boiling water into the roasting pan halfway up the sides of the ramekins without getting any water in the custard. Cover the pan tightly with foil and bake until the custard is set around the edges but still has a slight jiggle in the center, 35 to 45 minutes. Carefully remove the roasting pan from the oven and transfer the ramekins to a wire rack to cool for 30 minutes. Then refrigerate until very cold, about 3 hours.
• Just before serving, evenly spread 1 tablespoon of the sugar over the top of a custard. Hold a kitchen torch 2 inches above the surface. Starting in the center of the ramekin, move the flame in a circular motion and work your way out to the edges to caramelize the sugar. Repeat with the remaining sugar and custards.
• Alternatively, arrange a rack in the top position of the oven and heat the broiler on high. Place the ramekins on a rack set inside a baking sheet and broil until deep golden brown, 15 to 60 seconds, checking every 10 seconds.
• Freeze the custards for 5 minutes before serving (see Cook's Note).

SAFFRON CARDAMOM CREME BRULéE

Steps:

• Bang cardamom pods lightly in a mortar and pestle. Add cream, saffron strands and cardamom to a small saucepan. Scald the cream (heat it on moderately high heat until little bubbles are forming around the edge) - watch it like a hawk - you don't want it boiling and you don't want to waste your precious saffron. Take it off the fire. Cover the saucepan and leave it sit for 30 minutes. Scald it again and take off the fire the let it sit for another 30 minutes (you want the saffron steeping for a long time to extract as much of the flavor as possible).
• Pass the cream mixture though a fine sieve and discard the solids. If it's cooled down scald it once more.
• Combine egg yolks, sugar and rose water in a deep bowl. Whisk it with a fork to a paste. Temper in the cream mixture (slowly add the warm cream in while stirring so the egg mixture does not heat up too fast and start to cook).
• Pour the liquid into 3 or 4 ounce creme brulée ramekins and set up a bain marie - that is a water bath - you do this by placing the ramekins in a roasting or baking pan and add water to the pan so that it reaches almost as high as your custard level. Be careful not to let water get into the ramekins.
• Bake in the oven at 325 for about 30 minutes. It is done when it jiggles only slightly in the middle when the ramekin is tapped from the side. I recommend checking on it at 20 minutes and every 5 minutes thereafter. It's hard to predict how long it will take. Remove from the oven and from the bain marie. Let cool on the countertop and once cooled down refrigerate.
• 5 minutes prior to serving take out of the fridge and dust the tops with sugar in the raw then get out your butane torch and burn the sugar going slowly from spot to spot.

SIMPLE CREME BRULEE DESSERT

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Whisk 3 tablespoons sugar and cream in a microwave-safe bowl until well combined; heat the mixture in microwave until warm, 1 to 2 minutes, and whisk again to dissolve sugar. Whisk in egg yolks and vanilla extract until smooth.
• Pour cream mixture into 2 ramekins. Set ramekins into a roasting pan and pour in enough hot water to reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
• Bake in the preheated oven until creme desserts are set but still slightly jiggly when shaken, about 50 minutes. Remove ramekins from hot water and chill in refrigerator until cold, at least 2 hours.
• Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of sugar evenly over the top of each dessert. Use a kitchen torch to lightly toast and melt the sugar topping until brown and bubbly, about 30 seconds. Let the sugar topping cool before serving. To serve, use a spoon to crack the crisp sugar open to reveal the creamy dessert underneath.

SIMPLE CREME BRULEE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a medium sauce pan, heat the cream and vanilla to a simmer. Remove pan from heat and let sit for 10 minutes. In a bowl whisk together the sugar and yolks until they are a pale yellow. Whisk cream into the egg mixture and pour into 6 flameproof custard dishes.
• Place dishes in a large flameproof baking dish lined with a towel. Pour boiling water into baking dish so that it comes to half way up the custard dishes. Bake for 30 minutes or until custard is firm but still wiggles. Chill for at least one hour. Top with brown sugar in an even layer and place under broiler until sugar melts and bubbles. Serve at room temperature.