I think I figured out one of the problems with the creme brulee

[xiphias]

After re-reading the recipe, I realized that there are no ingredients in it that would lead to, y'know, congealing. Cream, sugar, egg yolks, vanilla.

That's egg nog, not custard.

The only reason it congealed to the extent it did was because I used the NORMAL person method of separating eggs, of pouring it from eggshell half to eggshell half, instead of the way I normally do, with my bare hands. Because of that, there was some albumen in it. Had I done a better job of separating the eggs, it wouldn't have even STARTED to congeal.

It's the recipe's fault, not mine. As such, I'm kicking myself for not noticing that the recipe was flawed before I started making it.

Comments

[hobbitblue.livejournal.com]

Er, that *is* the recipe for custard.. Which I've not made in a long time, but I seem to remember involves beating together sugar and egg yolks, then heating the cream, and slowly pouring hot cream onto egg & sugar mix, beating all the while to avoid lumps, then returning to a low heat and continuing to stir gently as the heat causes it to gradually thicken. Once its thickened you can pour it into something and set it to chill. Its the way the heat changes the molecular wotsits of the egg that causes it to thicken, in the same way that heat acting on flour turns a basic roux into white sauce...
Only thing I can think of is you didn't cook it over the heat for long enough, it can take a while to thicken sometimes.

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

It's a recipe for a soft sauce-type or spoon-type custard, though.Creme brulee needs to be a little firmer.

A.

Eggnog Creme Brulee

[(Anonymous)]

Here you go -- the best of both worlds -- EggNog Creme Brulee:

This makes one large crème brûlée for sharing. Prepare the custard up to a day ahead, and chill the topping for at least one hour. Set out small plates and a large serving spoon so that guests can help themselves.
4 cups whipping cream
2/3 cup sugar
8 large egg yolks
1/4 cup dark rum
1 tablespoon brandy
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Large pinch of salt

1/3 cup (packed) golden brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350°F. Place 11x8-inch (8-cup capacity) shallow ceramic baking dish in roasting pan. Mix cream and 2/3 cup sugar in medium saucepan. Bring to simmer, stirring until sugar dissolves. Whisk yolks in medium bowl. Gradually whisk in hot cream mixture, then rum, brandy, nutmeg, and salt. Transfer to baking dish. Pour enough hot water into roasting pan to come halfway up sides of dish. Carefully transfer pan to oven.

Bake until custard is set around edges but center still jiggles slightly when dish is gently shaken, about 40 minutes. Remove ceramic dish from water. Chill custard on rack until cold, at least 3 hours. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and keep chilled.)

Preheat broiler. Press brown sugar through strainer over custard to cover completely and evenly. Watching closely, broil custard 4 to 6 inches from heat source until sugar bubbles and caramelizes, about 2 minutes. Chill custard until topping hardens, at least 1 hour and up to 3 hours. Serve cold.

Makes 8 servings.


Bon Appétit
December 2002

Entertaining Made Easy

[kightp.livejournal.com]

ASs someone else noted, you can make a perfectly good custard with egg yolks and no white, but it'll be a soft one. Egg yolk doesn't "congeal" like whites do, but it's a prodigious thickener. I've been making homemade ice cream with custard bases that contain nothing more than cream/milk, sugar and egg yolks, plus some flavoring, and it thickens quite nicely; if I kept cooking it, I'd wind up with a soft custard.

I'm wondering if you didn't cook the custard long enough, or if the cream-to-yolk ratio was simply too high?