3.28.17
I think I’ve finally come to terms with the fact that no one can do all the things. You can try, but you’ll probably fail. I think my life limit for balancing is three major things. I can work, do a show, and bake. Or work, bake and exercise. But trying to fit in a fourth ends up being impossible. Something is always going to fall by the wayside. This past week (and some change), it was the blog. But hey I’ve had time to work out so my arms and tush look pretty good!!! Anyway, I have a back log of things I’m working on, and this past weekend was full of events to boot. I closed my show, after an overwhelming about of friends came out to support me, and we also celebrated our two year wedding anniversary! Two years. Wowza, already? I spent a whole week last year looking back on our wedding, which you can see here, here and here. This year, no dedicated treats, but we spent Sunday together for a casual and wonderful day.
I’m big on going with the theme of each married year to guide us towards gifts. It can sound cheesy but honestly, when you plan on getting gifts for someone forever, a little push in a certain direction doesn’t hurt. I also take it as a challenge to find something out of the box that relates. Year two is cotton. Phil bought me/us new sheets and a quilt, which we’ve desperately needed. I bought us a couples massage, because what do you wear and lay on during a massage? Cotton robes and sheets!! It felt fantastic, and then we grabbed a bite, some drinks, saw Get Out (go see it, right now!) and then got a more substantial dinner before heading home and crashing. I could get all sappy on why Phil is the bees knees in all the ways but I’ll spare you this time around, no promises for year three though.
I’ve been testing out a lot of recipes lately, and it’s been nice to not post as much, and feel like I’ve gotten the recipe really solid before putting it out in the world. This was one of those recipes. Before we get to the details, did you know how easy it is to make creme brûlée?? I think when desserts have accents in the name, it gets intimidating, but honestly, I made creme brûlée for the first time and got mad at myself for never trying before. The custard is so rich and smooth, it’s a perfect dessert to impress your friends. I added cardamom because I’m currently obsessed with the flavor. Throw it in an apple pie, add it into a cake; putting it in this creme brûlée made it so delicious that I just stopped taking pictures and devoured one….and realized I wanted to take a picture with it only half eaten. Oops.
So it’s time for you to dive in, challenge yourself on something that isn’t even too challenging! Some of the spice will sink to the bottom, but it wasn’t nearly as much as when I first made it and whisked the cardamom into the yolks instead of the cream. Second time was a charm, big time. Crack that sugar on top and dig in.
Cardamom Creme Brûlée
Ingredients
- 4 egg yolks
- 1 3/4 cups heavy cream
- 1/4 cup sugar + extra for burnt crust
- pinch salt
- 1 heaping tsp of cardamom
Instructions
- In a small sauce pan, whisk together heavy cream and cardamom lightly, then heat until a slight simmer, the edges of the cream should begin to bubble, then turn off heat, cover and allow to cool for about 10 minutes
- Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks, sugar, and salt
- Also while cream is cooling, begin heating a medium saucepan full of water, bring to boil and then turn off heat
- Preheat oven to 300
- Place 4 ramekins in a small roasting pan or baking pan, the sides of pan should be at least as tall as the ramekins
- Once cooled, whisk in half of cream slowly into yolks, continue to whisk util smooth
- Then pour yolk/cream mixture back into sauce pan with remaining cream and continue to whisk
- Place a fine mesh sieve over a large measuring cup with a spout and pour mixture through sieve to catch any skin from cream
- Carefully pour custard into four ramekins, making sure not to fill all the way to the top
- Then carefully pour hot water into baking pan to surround the ramekins, allow to come almost 3/4 of the way up the ramekins
- Place on middle rack of oven and bake for 42-45 minutes, being mindful not to splash water into the custard and vice versa
- You know its done when you gently shake the ramekin and it still jiggles a little in the center, it will continue to set once removed from the oven
- Remove ramekin from water bath and place on cooling rack for about 10-15 minutes
- Chill over night
- Once ready to serve, sprinkle sugar on top of custard, and make sure to shake sugar around to cover entire surface
- Using a mini blow torch burn the crust of sugar to create a hard shell
- Enjoy immediately
P.S.
*I’m sure a broiler can be used for about 1-2 minutes for the sugar crust but I have yet to try this method.
