recipe 11: chocolate crème brûlée
the long anticipated start to a series of yolk forward recipes- name pending
Alright, so if you’ve followed me for a while you know that I am not a fan of chocolate. On a dessert menu the last option I’m going for is the chocolatey one. A chocolate chip cookie with little to no chips is ideal. But, the second there is a drop of stress (or too many PMS hormones) in my system- I become a chocolate fiend. There’s a bit more than a drop of stress in my system these days, from having to find a new place to live, to figuring out next steps, to reading headlines that say “The era of global warming is over, we’ve now entered the era of global boiling”- it’s safe to say, ya bitch is fucking stressed. And she’s leaning on chocolate to get her through this.
I recently started a little recipe series called yolkless, which highlights some of my favorite egg white heavy recipes when you’ve got them leftover from yolky recipes. Through all the recipe testing I’ve been doing for that, I’m now left with a surplus of yolks- go figure. My favorite yolky recipe and the one thing I’ll always choose on the menu- crème brûlée. I saw a TikTok recently that said if your favorite dessert is crème brûlée, you’re probably 70 years old. I will not stand for such slander! There’s a reason this dish is a classic, a lush, creamy custard topped with deeply caramelized crackly sugar? There’s no going wrong! I mean, unless you over bake and curdle the custard, of course, then yeah, it’s kinda ass.
You can also flavor crème brûlée (anything for that matter) an infinite number of ways. Add a little spice, a splash of booze, infuse the cream with your favorite coffee beans? ugh yes yes yes! For this chocolatey version- we’re uping the flavor with a little bit of caramelized sugar (totes optional), brown sugar, cocoa powder, and a little pinch of espresso powder. The caramelized sugar and brown sugar are gonna bring a depth of flavor that you don’t get with just plain ole granulated sugar- their notes really enhance the cocoa powder. If you’re not comfy caramelizing sugar or just don’t want to do it- you can in fact skip this step.
Crème brûlée is a star in her own right. But, if you want an all eyes on you moment in front of your friends and family, torch these bad boiis “to order” at your next dinner party. Guaranteed main character moment.
I often get asked about the torch I use- it’s an Iwatani that I “borrowed” from Mr.Holmes when it went out of business… But, I prefer the torch tops that you just attach to a butane canister. You get better control of the flame, they last longer and are overall a better expenditure than the teeny hand held torches you get at Sur La Table- IMO.