The earliest known recipe for crème brûlée is in Francois Massialot’s 1691 cookbook Cuisinier royal et bourgeois. The reference to “burnt cream” was used in the 1700’s English translation.
National Crème Brulee Day is 21 July
Crème brûlée was not very common in French and English cookbooks of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.] It became extremely popular in the 1980s,
In the 17th Century all the cream was fresh from the farm because there was no pasteurisation
In France the still use unwashed and unrefrigerated eggs for crème brûlée as they did in the 1600’s. Washing destroys the natural protective coating which fight bacteria
In order to ensure slow controlled cooking, the crème brûlée is cooked in a bain marie
The crème brûlée is made in ramekins and vanilla is added
Do not get bain marie water in the ramekins as this causes a pitted surface
Crème brûlée is cooked at a low temperature for about 40 min or until the internal temperature is 75 Deg C
the original French Creme Brulee recipe would have used refined cane sugar.
Creme Brulee seems easy enough to make with just a few ingredients; Cream, Eggs, Vanilla, and Sugar – sometimes salt It’s however a little more involved than simply mixing these ingredients together and putting it in the oven.
Tempering and straining is often required to avoid lumpy custard caused by curdling when heated. Tempering is when heat is slowly introduced while mixing. If the custard then forms lumps, straining is required before baking.
Once baked the cooling needs to be done over a long period, after which it is transferred to the fridge.
White refined sugar is sprinkled on the surface and a torch is used to melt/burn the sugar to golden brown. At Cattle Baron TableView Blouberg your excellent Crème Brulee is torched at the table. The aroma that wafts all around the area cannot be resisted.
A good crème brûlée is certainly an art to make and extremely enjoyable to consume.
Many crème brûlée recipes exist using the basics as described here, but the fundamentals are always important and have remained unchanged for decades.
