Creme Brulée Help Needed

[Banana Brain]

If the recipe calls for a cup of cream and a cup of milk, could I just use two cups of half-and-half? Or will it turn out wrong?

[Andy M.]

I guess it's worth a try. I'm not sure of your success. A standard Creme Brulee recipe calls for heavy cream and no milk at all. Half and half is made with milk and light cream. The fat content of heavy cream, which prevents the cream from separating under heat, is 36% to 40%. That's three times the fat of half and half.

[Banana Brain]

I'm not making it from scratch, I have to admit I'm using a powder mix that I found in the store. The box said the whipping cream was to be 35% fat. I hope thats okay, because I went ahead and used the half-and-half. Its setting in my kitchen right now for an hour, and from what I "taste tested" the consistancy was really really thick. Thicker than any pudding I've ever had, thats for sure. The only problem was that it wasn't very sweet from what I tasted, which is a dissapointment. Is cream brulee supposed to be sweet? I also have some creme crulee ice cream from Haagen Dasz, and I might actually like that better...
Could someone please fill me in also on if this dessert was meant to be served warm or hot? (I'm totally clueless, I know. I've just always wanted to try creme brulee.)

Is creme brulee meant to be served hot or cold?

[Michael in FtW]

It's a custard - it needs to chill overnight to set-up, before you sprinkle on the sugar and tourch it. So I guess the answer would be - COLD.

[Banana Brain]

Thanks! What is tourch? I keep reading about that and picturing a flaming dessert.

Um, it appears I can't delete this thread? (I honestly tried). Help with that too someone?

[corazon]

delete the thread...why?
And welcome to dc!
I responded to your question in your other thread...

[corazon]

Here is a photo of the brulee being torched. Basically, sugar is sprinkled over the custard, and torched to produce a carmelized sugar over the top. You can also do this under a broiler in your oven but the results aren't as good as the flamethrower. Creme brulee is quite good. The carmelized sugar, you have to crack with your spoon to get to the custard. The custard is smooth and creamy while the sugar has a crunch to it. If your intersted, I posted a recipe for an orange creme brulee not too long ago. I'll find the link for you.

[Michael in FtW]

A torch (sorry about the previous spelling) is a cylinder of either butane or propane gas with a nozzel that allows you to rapidly apply heat to the sugar on top of the custard to caramlize it (these are just two examples). There are other models of these .... but are the same basic idea and they all should work equally well. FWIW: I use the same torch to make Creme Brulée that I used to sweat in the pipes for a hot water heater.

The ones from the hardware store work the same as the much more expensive ones from the "gourmet" shops - they just tend to be a little larger and are not as "pretty".

If you want to delete a thread, or a post - just ask a site helper or administrator in a PM.

[Banana Brain]

Oh dear... I definatly don't have one of those fancy things. I'm going to try carmelizing the sugar tonight (I devided not to have the dessert last night, for fear of ruining it) with the lighter I use for lighting the propane stove. Wish me luck I guess!

[corazon]

Originally Posted by Banana Brain

Oh dear... I definatly don't have one of those fancy things. I'm going to try carmelizing the sugar tonight (I devided not to have the dessert last night, for fear of ruining it) with the lighter I use for lighting the propane stove. Wish me luck I guess!

I suspect the broiler with your oven will work better than a lighter would.