Vanilla Crème Brûlée with a Glassy Torched Sugar Crust

Why scald the cream and steep the vanilla?

Scalding here means heating the cream until it steams and small bubbles form around the edge of the pan, about 5 minutes over medium heat. It shouldn't boil. Drop in the split vanilla pod and its scraped seeds, cover the pan and leave it off the heat for 15 minutes. Warm fat pulls flavor out of the pod far better than cold cream does, so the custard tastes of vanilla all the way through.

Hot cream also starts the cooking gently. Pour it into the yolks in a thin stream, whisking the whole time, and the base warms evenly without scrambling. Pour too fast and you'll get flecks of cooked egg. A warm base also sets sooner and more evenly in the oven than a cold one.

Whisk the yolks and sugar only until smooth. Beating in air leaves a foamy top that bakes into a spotty surface. Then strain the base through a fine sieve, which catches bits of cooked egg and the stringy chalazae, and skim off any foam. A smooth surface is what lets the sugar crust sit evenly later.

What does the water bath actually do?

Egg yolks thicken gently between about 160 and 180°F, then turn grainy and curdle not far beyond that. Oven air at 300°F would push the outside of each ramekin past that point long before the middle set. Water in an open pan can't rise above its boiling point of 212°F, and in a 300°F oven it stays well below that, so it cushions the sides and lets the whole custard cook at a similar pace.

Set a folded kitchen towel in the bottom of a roasting pan so the ramekins don't slide, arrange them on it, and pour the custard in. Put the pan on the oven rack first, then pour hot tap water around the ramekins until it comes halfway up their sides. It's much safer than carrying a sloshing pan of water across the kitchen.

When is vanilla crème brûlée set?

A finished custard jiggles in the middle like set gelatin when you nudge the pan, while the outer inch looks firm. If the whole surface ripples like liquid, it needs more time. An instant read thermometer takes out the guesswork.

The target range sits above the 160°F that the USDA safe temperature chart lists for egg dishes, so a properly set custard is fully cooked. Shallow, wide ramekins set faster than deep ones, so start checking at 30 minutes.

Torching the sugar into a glassy crust

The crust should be thin enough to crack with a spoon and cold custard should sit beneath it. Do it no more than 30 minutes before serving; sugar left overnight on custard dissolves back into syrup.

1. Blot any condensation from the chilled custards with a paper towel.
2. Sprinkle about 1 1/2 teaspoons of granulated or superfine sugar over each one and tilt the ramekin so the layer is even. Tap off the excess.
3. Hold a kitchen torch 2 to 3 inches away and move the flame in small circles until the sugar melts, bubbles and turns deep amber, about 1 minute each.
4. Let them sit for 2 to 3 minutes so the caramel hardens.

No torch? Set the ramekins on a sheet pan under a preheated broiler, as close as they'll go, for 1 to 3 minutes and watch closely. The broiler warms the custard more, so chill them for 15 minutes afterward. Turbinado sugar isn't ideal here; its large crystals melt unevenly.

Crème brûlée vs flan vs panna cotta

These three set creams sit next to each other on dessert menus, but each works differently.

Vanilla crème brûlée uses heavy cream and only yolks, so it's the richest and softest. It bakes in shallow ramekins and gets its crunch from sugar caramelized on top just before serving.

Flan, or crème caramel, uses milk or a mix of milk and cream with whole eggs. The whites make it firm enough to unmold. The caramel goes in the bottom of the mold first, and when you flip it out it becomes a thin sauce over the custard.

Panna cotta contains no eggs at all. Sweetened cream is set with gelatin and chilled, never baked, so it's quicker but has a bouncier texture.

If you're choosing for a dinner party, the brûlée has the drama of the crackling top. Flan travels better, and panna cotta suits a kitchen without an oven.

What can you do with the six leftover whites?

This custard takes six yolks and no whites, so plan for them. Egg whites keep in a covered container in the fridge for up to 4 days, or frozen for months. Freeze them in an ice cube tray, one white per cube, then pop them into a bag and label it with the count.

The best match is a berry pavlova with whipped cream, which uses exactly six whites for one large meringue. The crisp shell and soft middle make a light counterpoint to rich custard, so the two are often baked in the same week.

Whites also work in a morning scramble, in a batch of meringue cookies, or whipped and folded into waffle batter for extra lift. If you'd like a second custard style dessert, a make ahead classic tiramisu uses separated eggs too, with the whites whipped straight into the mascarpone cream. Label frozen whites with the date, and use them within 12 months.