Pajama Team Dance Party Cooking Show . . . Creme Brulee

On Christmas day I made the salad (future post) and my sister and I made the Creme Brulee. Actually, my niece (age 6), my sister and sister-in-law DID make a hilarious video--"the Pajama Team Dance Party Cooking Show" where we made the Creme Brulee with C&C Music Factory in the background. We were pretending we had our own cooking show . . .I want to say it was a fun way to hang out with my niece, but really my family is really this cheesy. My sister, T, and I especially. The video IS hilarious but doesn't actually show the food much :) We were using my new FLIP video cam--I just don' t have the editing part all figured out yet . . .

(Hey! I DID figure out how to take a snapshot from the FLIP footage! here you can see some of us in our cheesy-Dance Party glory rockin out to "Everybody Dance Now".)

Anyway, my Dad:




(Dad is on the left in his ever-present-winter Elmer Fudd hat . . . next to my GQ brother :)

recently had Creme Brulee at a restaurant and declared it his new favorite so we thought it'd be fun to make it for him. Creme Brulee, as it turns out is very simple yet very difficult because there are so many darned steps! I don't normally bake and this is dangerously close to baking . . .but despite none of us having ever made it before, ours did turn out great!

We looked at three different recipes and modified our own (which is usually how I roll). This receipe is for about 8 people. I should also point out that this recipe requires more tools and gadgets than I normally use--but we were in my Mom's kitchen--home of any and all kitchen gadgets!

Incredients:
5 cups Heavy Whipping Cream
12 Egg Yolks
8 Tbsp White Granulated Sugar

1 tsp Almond extract

1 tsp Vanilla extract

Brown Sugar for sprinkling

Berries for garnish





Tools/Equipment:

Mixer

Ramekins (we used various sizes for various ages of family members :)

2 baking dishes

Sifter (optional)

Torch or large lighter for carmelizing the sugar



Preheat oven to 300 degrees.



Heat 5 cups of Heavy Whipping Cream over a low heat until almost boiling (stir slowly to prevent scalding)--when it's almost boiling, take it off heat; Meanwhile, seperate 12 eggs. I find the easiest way to seperate eggs is to crack the egg into your hand and use your fingers as a natural sieve:

Be sure to refrigerate the egg whites for an omelette the next day! Okay, now beat 12 egg yolks, 8 Tablespoons of sugar, 1 tsp Almond extract and 1 tsp Vanilla extract for about 5 minutes (or until thick and frothy).



Then temper the egg mixture with the hot cream in a seperate bowl--add a cup of the egg mixture in a bowl and slowly add about a cup of the cream while whisking very fast. (no photo of this--sorry!). Then, turn the mixer back on very low (which egg mixture still in the bowl) and slowly add the tempered mixture. Then slowly add the cream a little at a time until it's all mixed together.



Be sure to crank up the tunes and have background dancers to spice up the boredom of having SO MANY STEPS! Here you'll see our background dancers doing the shopping cart . . .





Put about 4 cups of water in a large microwave safe container and heat up for about 1-2 minutes.



Using a ladle, pour the creme brulee mixture into the ramekins to 3/4 full. Place the ramekins in a baking dish (you'll need two baking dishes to make 8 ramekins). Then take the hot water from the microwave and pour it into the baking dish so it comes about halfway up the sides of the ramekins.



Set the timer for 25 minutes but but be prepared for it to be longer. Check at 3-5 minute intervals for the custards to be "set"--by "Set" I mean that you can jiggle the pan and they wiggle a bit but clearly are no longer liquid in the middle. Don't be alarmed if they brown on top--mine did but it was because my mixture was a bit too frothy and the "froth" browned, but underneath was creamy delicious custard.

When they're done, remove the ramekins from the water bath using large tongs or oven mitts and let them come to room temp before putting in the fridge.

I don't have photos of much of this because I hadn't planned on food blogging it and our Danceparty Cooking show lost its mojo after the 20th step (around the time we finally put the ramekins in the oven).

Once cooled (can be refrigerated for up to 1-2 days), they're ready to "brulee!" Place 1/3 cup Brown Sugar and 1/3 cup White Sugar in a sifter and sift the sugar over top the ramekin. Using a torch or large lighter, flame the sugar until carmelized but not burnt--you'll be able to tell when you burn it because it'll make a sizzle sound and turn black. My son found that you can make an even more candy-licious crust by repeating the sugar/flame process 2-3 times.

Top with a few berries and ENJOY! Then take a nap--you deserve it!

Creme Brulee isn't that hard--just time consuming--something I'm not usually down for. But, it was Christmas and my Daddy's favorite .. . and he said it was "WAY BETTER" than what he had at the restaurant. Plus we have a hilarious video to chronicle some classic sister time! Way worth the time spent :)



Love to you and yours and hope you made some great memories this Chrismas!

Update:
p.s. does anyone else cook with their family? tell me about it!

p.p.s. if anyone makes Creme Brulee, please take a pic and show me the final product! (since I obviously didn't bother to do so myself!!)

The Unkept Cook