Maple Creme Brulee

We planned to have dinner at our friend Cameron's house yesterday so I asked him if it would be ok if I made dessert in order to have something to post about. I kind of had a plan to make maple mousse but then when I was reading the recipe I didn't know if I would have enough time to let it set and I didn't want to serve "drippy maple mousse" so feel free to look forward to that recipe another time because I am still very interested in making it. Instead, I decided to make maple creme brulee which was a courageous decision since custard is one of the two things that I have a serious mental block about being able to cook correctly (the other being eggs sunny side up). I used two recipes for this because of the mental block. One was in my all time favorite extensive cooking manual (I call it culinary school in a cookbook)-- Cooking by  James Peterson (see shelfari) and the other was on a food blog I frequent, Closet Cooking, by Toronto Native Kevin Lynch. I felt that I needed the two recipes because Peterson's book gave me very clear, step by step instructions, as well as a full page description on custard but the blog recipe was the right size and included maple. Anyway-- onto the recipes!

Maple Creme Brulee (also available at http://closetcooking.blogspot.com/2008/05/maple-creme-brulee.html)

2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup maple sugar (or brown sugar)

I know, I know. You are all scowling about the vanilla extract. But I truly want you to know that I did go to the grocery story and looked in two different places for a vanilla bean before settling for the extract! I didn't have time to go to the co-op or to the natural food store that I know would have had it! Next time I will, as long as I have time, use a real vanilla bean! My second ingredient confession (which I am far more embarrassed about since I live in Vermont) is that I used brown sugar as the topping instead of maple sugar. The reason is the same as with the vanilla bean (herein referred to as the "vanilla bean letdown of '10")-- I didn't have time to go to the appropriate store or maple sugar shack and buy Vermont maple sugar. Hey-- at least I used brown sugar instead of non-Vermont made maple sugar! Another quick side note- while looking in the regular grocery story for maple sugar I saw a product called "Vermont Maid" Syrup which is NOT even real maple syrup-- I am ashamed that the brand has my wonderful state's name in it! I obviously used local syrup from Vermont bought during Maple fest weekend!

The process:

1. Heat the heavy cream and maple syrup until just before boiling and remove from heat.
2. Mix the eggs, egg yolks and vanilla in a bowl.
3. Pour the cream mixture into the eggs slowly while stirring.
4. Pour the mixture into 4 ramekins.
5. Place the ramekins in a baking pan and fill the baking pan with water until it comes halfway up the ramekins.
6. Bake in a preheated 350F oven until firm but still jiggley, about 30-35 minutes.
7. Let them cool and then cool in the fridge until cold.
8. Sprinkle with the sugar and place under a broiler until the sugar turns golden brown, about 20-90 seconds.

I have already disclosed my fear of custard. I have only tried to make it 2 or 3 times but each time before this one was a disaster. Once when I was putting it into the oven the water bath spilled over the sides of the custard and ruined it, another time it never hardened and just became hot sweet, eggy soup. This time, all went well. I was most nervous when mixing the hot heavy cream and maple mixture into the egg. Peterson's book said to "whisk constantly until no yolk clings to the sides of the bowl. If you see specks of cooked egg, strain the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer". I was afraid the egg would simply scramble (which would not be an ideal texture to find in the middle of your fancy maple creme brulee). 

I added the cream just a bit at a time, whisking with a fork and then later with a whisk and only one tiny string of scrambled egg was to be seen (obviously I scooped it out)! I filled the ramekins, placed them in a roasting pan and filled the roasting pan with water, then mishaplessly placed the pan into the preheated oven! In about 40 minutes the brulees looked (and jiggled) done so I took them out. I was tempted to directly place them into the fridge to expedite the cooling period but before doing this referenced my good friend, Peterson, whom I will quote now, "Don't be tempted to stick them, still warm, in the refrigerator or moisture will condense on the underside of the foil and drip down onto the custards". Thank you once again, James!

I left the brulees on a cooling rack for about 45 minutes before covering them and moving them to the fridge. I brought them out into the rainy night double covered with Saran Wrap when we left for Cameron's house. The brulees were then placed back into the fridge at his house until dessert time when we all crowded around his amazingly beautiful and homemade kitchen work table for the caramelizing. I took up the torch and started about 3 inches from the brulees, moving the flame often to avoid burn marks but still the sugar was burning a little! 

It seemed that there was too much sugar, that is, that the high peaks of sugar were what was burning. We scraped the brown sugar off of one brulee and replaced it with a sprinkling of white sugar which definitely melted better and provided to best part of creme brulee-- tapping into the caramelized top. The other three brulees we tried caramelizing in the broiler and found that the brulees which were not under direct heat from the broiler caramelized the best.

In the end all of the brulees did have that obligatory caramelized topping that you get the wonderful satisfaction of tapping though but since it was so difficult to get all of the sugar caramelized without burning some our brulees had some un-caramelized sugar remaining. 

I do have to comment though that, for me, once you tap through the delicious top crust creme brulee lacks something. I guess I'm not a big fan of custard anyway!