One of the downsides to making a lot of macarons is the load of egg yolks that you inevitably end up with.  I usually put the yolks in a container and freeze them for later use.  The other day I made a pact with myself that I wouldn’t make any more [...]]]>

One of the downsides to making a lot of macarons is the load of egg yolks that you inevitably end up with.  I usually put the yolks in a container and freeze them for later use.  The other day I made a pact with myself that I wouldn’t make any more egg white only desserts until I used up my egg yolks.

My first thought was to make ice cream.  I love ice cream! But my freezer was too full to accommodate the ice cream making bowl.  So then I started to Google alternate usages.  Of course custard-based desserts ranked high so I decided to make an old favourite, crème brûlée.

Years ago, I think I was in high school, I had the foresight to order a kitchen torch to make crème brûlée.  I’m not kidding.  Some high school kids experiment with drinking and drugs while others order torches to make crème brûlée. I probably made it a few times and barely used the torch since.  Part of me always wants to use it on grapefruit or something but it never really happened.  With that said all I had to do was go out and get some butane for my torch and I would be ready to go!

Sadly I used up my stash of vanilla beans (which reminds me, I should head over to eBay to order some) so I was on the hunt for other ideas.  I stumbled upon a version for coconut crème brûlée and immediately knew that it would be love.  As I’ve likely mentioned before I love coconut errythang AND this brulée included rum so it was destined to be a winner.

This crème brûlée deviates from a traditional by including flaked coconut (which is later strained from the custard), coconut milk and rum.  As a result, I found the final texure wasn’t as smooth as I’m accustomed to.  It wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t smooth as silk.

The flavours were great!  It was pure coconut all the way.  I didn’t have Malibu rum so I just used some regular Appleton’s for the alcoholic kick and it worked well.  I made half the recipe which was enough for 4 portions.  Leftovers were great the following day although I’d reserve the torching for 15 minutes prior to serving.

This is definitely a new favourite in my household.

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Another month, another Barefoot Bloggers recipe!  I was totally pumped when I saw the recipe for Creme Brulee.  I LOVE that stuff!  So much in fact that YEARS ago I ordered a kitchen blowtorch for the sole purpose of making  creme brulee.  Truth be told the contraption has probably been used 2 or [...]]]>

Another month, another Barefoot Bloggers recipe!  I was totally pumped when I saw the recipe for Creme Brulee.  I LOVE that stuff!  So much in fact that YEARS ago I ordered a kitchen blowtorch for the sole purpose of making  creme brulee.  Truth be told the contraption has probably been used 2 or 3 times at MOST. Creme brulee tends to be one of those things that I eat while out, particularly when I’m out with my friend Jaime who is a big of the CB.

This recipe comes from Barefoot in Paris by Ina Garten/Barefoot Contessa (of course! This is Barefoot Bloggers).  Like most recipes it is super simple.  The fun part though is that I learned that my hand mixer was broken as I went to make this.  But alas people were making creme brulee before there were hand mixers so I used my whisk to make this happen.  I also did the extra step of straining the mixture before filing the ramekins.  Straining ensures that there are no lumps and makes the whole thing extra creamy and silky.

Oh, and it was!

Creamy, custardy goodness.  I didn’t follow the recipe exactly since I omitted the orange liquer but I don’t usually like orange flavoured things so no love lost there.

With this recipe you end up with 4 egg whites with no home.  I was on David Lebovitz’ site and came across this post that gives ideas (and recipes!) for using leftover egg whites… brilliant!  Let’s just say look out for a post on homemade marshmallows sometime soon.

Enjoy!

Creme Brulee

Ingredients

• 1 extra-large egg
• 4 extra-large egg yolks
• 1/2 cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon for each serving
• 3 cups heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon orange liqueur (recommended: Grand Marnier)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the egg, egg yolks, and 1/2 cup of the sugar together on low speed until just combined. Meanwhile, scald the cream in a small saucepan until it’s very hot to the touch but not boiled. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the cream to the eggs. Add the vanilla and orange liqueur and pour into 6 to 8-ounce ramekins until almost full.

Place the ramekins in a baking pan and carefully pour boiling water into the pan to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the custards are set when gently shaken. Remove the custards from the water bath, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate until firm.

To serve, spread 1 tablespoon of sugar evenly on the top of each ramekin and heat with a kitchen blowtorch until the sugar carmelizes evenly. Allow to sit at room temperature for a minute until the caramelized sugar hardens.

(From Barefoot in Paris by Ina Garten)