My Creme Brulee Sucks

[CookingNoob]

I've been trying to hone my Creme Brulee skills this week. Results have been... let's say mixed.

Namely I'm having difficulty with the baking process. I'm hoping somebody can shed some light on what I might be doing wrong.

Issue #1: The tops are cooking much faster than the centers. As such, after about 30 minutes at 300, a rough, textured, eggy-looking film starts to develop on top of the custards.

If I jiggle the dishes, it doesn't look like the trademark jello jiggle, but more like semi-cooked, eggy-looking foam atop pure liquid. Almost like a cappuccino.

Issue #2: Of all the recipes I read, the average "optimal" temperature to bake the dishes to is 170-175 (give or take.) So why is it that when my creme brulees reach this temp, they are still pure liquid in the center? Shouldn't they have "set" by now?

So basically I have a couple questions I'd like anybody to take a crack at

1: How do I prevent the top from cooking quicker than the rest?
2: Are the top and center of the dish supposed to be roughly the same consistency when I take them out of the oven? Or is it actually ok that the center is pretty liquidy?
3: Why is it that my creme brulee reach the optimal temperature, but are still mostly liquid? If 175 is the optimal temperature, shouldn't they be "set" by now?

I'm using a pretty standard recipe:

5 egg yolks
2 cups heavy cream
1/8th tspn salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean

heat cream/vanilla/salt to simmer
whisk yolks & sugar until pale and smooth
let cream cool to below 165, & slowly stir into eggs
cook in water bath at 300 for 25-35 minutes

Any help with all of this would be much appreciated.

 

[pepperhead212]

Welcome to the forum!

It's been a while since I made creme brulee, but I do remember adding one whole egg to most of them, in addition to the yolks, which probably made them slightly firmer. And I remember the recipes calling for the center being left slightly liquidy, as they continue cooking as they cool, and thicken more when chilled. But the ones that I made were all cooked in the oven - not started in a saucepan.

 

[medtran49]

My recipe using 5 egg yolks and 2 cups heavy cream in 6 oz custard cups bakes at 350 for 50-55 minutes and is just a little jiggle in the middle. What baking dishes are you using? If you are getting bubbles on top you are whisking too much air into your mixture. Either let it sit for a while until the bubbles on top burst or pour thru a fine mesh sieve and that will break up most of the bubbles.

 

[Andy M.]

The custard should have an internal temperature around 155ºF to be done. It will continue to thicken after you take it out of the oven.

 

[CookingNoob]

Welcome to the forum!

I do remember adding one whole egg to most of them, in addition to the yolks, which probably made them slightly firmer. And I remember the recipes calling for the center being left slightly liquidy

Thank you, glad to be here.

I've only seen a couple recipes that call for one whole egg. So I've stuck with the yolks for now, assuming it's the standard.

Good to know the center should be slightly liquidy. But thus far, mine have been really liquidy. Not sure if that's acceptable or not.

 

[CookingNoob]

My recipe using 5 egg yolks and 2 cups heavy cream in 6 oz custard cups bakes at 350 for 50-55 minutes and is just a little jiggle in the middle. What baking dishes are you using? If you are getting bubbles on top you are whisking too much air into your mixture. Either let it sit for a while until the bubbles on top burst or pour thru a fine mesh sieve and that will break up most of the bubbles.

350 for 55 minutes? Wow. That's one thing I truly don't understand is how there is such a large spread in cooking times & temps. Does it really matter all that much?

What baking dishes are you using?

I'm using a 9x13 lasagna pan, and 2"-high, 4.5" diameter ramekins.

If you are getting bubbles on top you are whisking too much air into your mixture. Either let it sit for a while until the bubbles on top burst or pour thru a fine mesh sieve and that will break up most of the bubbles.

Bubbles haven't been an issue. I'm a careful whisker. I strain the cream going into the eggs (I can't justify spending $40 on a china cap just yet,) and the whole mixture gets strained again before going into the ramekins. I even take a paper towel and pop and tiny bubbles I see.

 

[CookingNoob]

The custard should have an internal temperature around 155ºF to be done. It will continue to thicken after you take it out of the oven.

Thanks!

I've heard anything from 155 to 175. I've also heard anything below 160 will make the custard too soupy. Is that not the case in your experience?

When you cook it to 155, what is the consistency of the custard coming out of the oven? Is it still pretty liquidy underneath the top layer?

 

[Andy M.]

Thanks!

I've heard anything from 155 to 175. I've also heard anything below 160 will make the custard too soupy. Is that not the case in your experience?

When you cook it to 155, what is the consistency of the custard coming out of the oven? Is it still pretty liquidy underneath the top layer?

Yes, but you have to trust the process. Same with key lime pie and other custards it will still jiggle but firms up as it cools.

It's also if you go a little over. Like 160ºF-165ºF.

 

[Andy M.]

just reread your post. Are you using individual serving sized ramekins or a larger single container to cook the crème brûlée's?

 

[CookingNoob]

will still jiggle but firms up as it cools

Yeah I know to expect some jiggle. But usually this jiggle is compared to jello. Mine doesn't jiggle like jello. It moves more like a layer of foam with straight liquid underneath. It moves like a cappuccino.

just reread your post. Are you using individual serving sized ramekins or a larger single container to cook the crème brûlée's?

I'm using 4.5" diameter ramekins.

 

[CookingNoob]

This is my 7th attempt at creme brulee. And the 3rd recipe I've tried. And still, only 15 minutes into baking, and it already looks like this (pic attached.)

That surface looks terrible. Like asphalt. It's a semi-solid eggy looking top layer, and and the rest of the dish is pure liquid. The mixture was smooth as a baby's butt when I poured it into the ramekins.

What am I doing wrong??

 

[Andy M.]

Questions: Was the cream mixture hot when you mixed it into the eggs? Did you strain the egg/cream mixture before pouring into the ramekins?

 

[CookingNoob]

25 minutes at 325. Anybody want an omelette?

 

[CookingNoob]

Questions: Was the cream mixture hot when you mixed it into the eggs? Did you strain the egg/cream mixture before pouring into the ramekins?

Yeah. I bring the cream to simmering. Then I make sure that it's cooled to below 165 before adding it to the eggs. I add about half, slowly, stirring it as I pour. Then after 30 seconds or so I slowly stir in the rest.

I strain the cream when pouring it into the eggs. Then I strain the entire mixture once before pouring into the ramekins. When it goes into the ramekins, it's smooth as a baby's butt.

 

[Andy M.]

Is the water in the water bath as high as or higher than the level of the custard in the ramekins?

 

[medtran49]

What temp are you using for your water bath and are you sure your oven temp is correct?

When you strain, are you getting a lot of solids, because I get little to none, but my cream mixture is cooler than yours. I don't measure the temp, but it's not uncomfortable to stick my finger in.

 

[CookingNoob]

Is the water in the water bath as high as or higher than the level of the custard in the ramekins?

I've tried multiple heights. Typically the surface of the water is maybe 1/4" lower than the surface of the custard. But on my last batch I tried filling the ramekins with three different amounts of custard. One below the water level, one right at it, and one above. That was the image I posted above. The tops for all of them still cooked pretty quickly, and came out roughly textured and bubbly.

The one with the most custard remained soupy throughout, even after 10 hours in the fridge. The least amount of custard turned out perfect, but the top still looked like garbage.

What temp are you using for your water bath and are you sure your oven temp is correct?

When you strain, are you getting a lot of solids, because I get little to none, but my cream mixture is cooler than yours. I don't measure the temp, but it's not uncomfortable to stick my finger in.

I use boiling/near-boiling water for the bath.

I assume the oven temp is as advertised. That said, I've even tried multiple temperatures. 325, 300, and even 250. (After an hour @250, they were still pure liquid, so I bumped it back up to 300 until they appeared set.) All temps I've tried have led to the same result. Overcooked tops. Even at 250, I could see the rough texture starting to set in about 15-20 minutes into baking.

I get essentially no solids when I strain. The only thing caught in the strainer is when I strain the cream after simmering; I get about a teaspoon of cream froth (courtesy a paper thin layer that develops on the cream's surface while heating.)

 

[medtran49]

Try to not get your cream so hot, you just need it hot enough to melt the sugar. I don't "simmer" the cream so don't get the skin. When you see tiny bubbles forming around the edges, it is hot enough.

I also don't use water that hot, have even just used hot tap water if I didn't feel like heating it. Even when I do heat it, I use the microwave and get it hot, but no where near boiling.

What position is your rack in the oven?

BTW, the second quote in your last post was me, not Andy.

 

[CookingNoob]

Try to not get your cream so hot, you just need it hot enough to melt the sugar. I don't "simmer" the cream so don't get the skin. When you see tiny bubbles forming around the edges, it is hot enough.

I also don't use water that hot, have even just used hot tap water if I didn't feel like heating it. Even when I do heat it, I use the microwave and get it hot, but no where near boiling.

Ok thanks, I'll tone it down a couple notches on both accounts, and see if that helps.

What position is your rack in the oven?

So far I've tried middle, and one down from middle. Today I'm going to try the next one down (2nd up from the bottom.) Given that the custard on top has been overcooking and the custard below seems to be undercooking, maybe this will compensate.

BTW, the second quote in your last post was me, not Andy.

Oops

 

[CookingNoob]

Interesting development. I took your advice, Medtran and Andy. I didn't heat the cream so hot, didn't heat the water to boiling, and I tried different heights of mixture in the ramekins to see if the relation to the water level made a difference. See image for the results.

The two on the right were filled the highest. Both of them being higher than the water level. And just at the 3/4 rim of the ramekin. Both are clearly a disaster.

The ramekin on the left, however was filled the lowest, just at or sliiiightly above the water level. And about 1/4" below the 3/4 rim of the ramekin. It's not perfect, but looks pretty good. Nice and smooth.

The degree to which the top looks bubbly, rough, and horrible is apparently commensurate to the height I fill the ramekins. The highest looks the worst, the lowest looks the best.

So could this be a problem with the ramekins, given that the top is a different width starting at the rim? Or does it have to do with the relation between the height of the water and the height of the mixture?

Andy, assuming you'll say it's the latter, should the water level be as high or higher than the custard level? All recipes I've found say to fill the ramekins to 3/4, but only fill the pan to 1/2 way up the ramekins.