Espresso Creme Brulee

It’s been far too long.

Is it even possible that I’ve gone without crème brûlée in my life for eight months? The shock, the horror. It’s somehow strangely true. (Candied Pistachio Crème Brûlée was my last foray into the intoxicating world of cream, sugar and yolk, and it was an unacceptably long time ago at that.)

But today is different. It’s time to give the classic Vanilla Bean Crème Brûlée a grown up, caffeinated twist: with the help of espresso and a dash of Kahlua. The original recipe needs no help, believe you me, but if you want a kicker on your next dinner-party dinner-ender, then this little caffeine bomb is for you.

Adapted from my Vanilla Bean Crème Brûlée recipe…

8 egg yolks

1/3 cup sugar (plus extra for sprinkling over tops of ramekins)

1 vanilla bean, scraped and seeded (or 1 teaspoon real vanilla extract)

2 cups heavy cream

3 tablespoons Kahlua

2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
1. Preheat oven to 300° and line two casserole dishes with a paper towel each.
2. In a large bowl, whisk yolks with sugar until smooth and pale (2 minutes). Add beans from a scraped vanilla bean, heavy cream, Kahlua and instant espresso powder, and whisk until incorporated.
3. Strain mixture with a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl (one with a spout if you happen to have).
4. Pour into four ramekins (or six shallow ones), and place into casserole dishes on top of paper towel (placed to prevent the ramekins from sliding around). Fill the pans with water so it reaches halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
5. Bake for 40 – 50 minutes, until jiggly in the centers. Remove from oven and place ramekins on cooling rack. Cool completely before caramelizing sugar on top.
6. CRUSTS: sprinkle 1 1/2 teaspoons of sugar over tops of custard and using a crème brûlée torch or the broiler in an oven, caramelize the sugar until browned but not burned. Serve immediately (with or without fruit on the side) and enjoy.
Tips:
- You must check out the original post for tips! Important stuff like how to create the crust, what the deal is with the vanilla bean, etc.
- No Kahlua? Well first off, I’m so sorry to hear that. How else are you making the Baked Kahlua Pineapple Flutter?? It’s okay. Just add 3 tablespoons of really strong coffee that has cooled to room temperature.
- No instant espresso powder? Now I’m really beginning to wonder how you make The World’s Greatest Fudge Brownie recipe. It’s okay. You can always buy it soon. But if you’re making this recipe NOW, go ahead and use instant coffee granules- just stir well into the cream to dissolve, or you’ll end up straining the coffee bits out. You can use real espresso powder too, if you must.
- Garnish with chocolate-covered espresso or coffee beans. And maybe some whipped cream, just for fun.
- Enjoy!
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April 20th, 2013 | More Sweets Please | No Comments | Tags: Espresso, Goopy