I got a new toy for Christmas. I've wanted a kitchen blow torch for years but always talked myself out of it. I couldn't quite justify another gadget that I'd rarely use. But I couldn't resist putting it on my Christmas list this year, and Santa delivered! So, of course, I had to make crème brûlée!
I made two kinds - the first being a classic vanilla crème brûlée. I'm always happy to make and taste anything showcasing eggs. If I had to pick a favorite ingredient to cook with, eggs would be it. I love egg custards, and crème brûlée is like its glitzy, glamorous, rich cousin.
Thanks to my new kitchen blow torch, I can get that signature thin layer of hard, almost bittersweet, caramel on top of the cool, creamy, eggy, sweet vanilla custard. It is an easy thing to love! And with that kitchen torch, crème brûlée is a magical little dessert that's actually really easy to conjure up. Cook the custard ahead of time since it needs to chill and keep it in the refrigerator until time to serve when the theatrics begin and you can shower the top with sugar and turn that torch on!
For my custard, I used half heavy cream and half milk. The crème brûlée was plenty rich and utterly delicious with flecks of vanilla beans running through every bite.
That was the classic...and now let's chat about the second rendition I made: green tea crème brûlée. I had a green tea (or matcha) crème brûlée once well over ten years ago that I loved so much, it stayed with me all this time. So I knew that if ever I got that kitchen blow torch and made crème brûlée, I'd have to try a green tea version.
Once upon a time, I worked in finance as an investment research associate. Every so often, we would go on roadshow presentations - lunches hosted by companies looking to hold an offering, selling company stock to raise funds. I'd be sitting there, listening and taking copious notes (fun times) that I'd need to turn into reports and such. At least these meetings came with a good meal. One time, I was at the Mandarin Oriental hotel in New York City for one of these roadshows and while I don't remember any other specifics about that day, I do remember the most delicious green tea crème brûlée served for dessert. I was really surprised by how good it was and that's why I've thought about green tea crème brûlée for years.
That's my little story. And really, the green tea version is so good. I suppose that slightly bitter, grassy note to the tea gets mellowed by the sweet custard and there's a nice balancing effect happening. The green tea crème brûlée did not disappoint and lived up to the hype I had in my mind from that one experience.
My husband and I enjoyed both the vanilla and green tea crème brûlée together and we tried to decide which we liked best. There was a lot of oohing and aahing in general and I think we remain undecided. The vanilla is such a classic - thoroughly sweet. Ironically, though the green tea tastes less sweet, there's actually a bit more sugar in it than the vanilla. Both are divine and I'm really glad I decided to finally ask Santa for my little kitchen torch.
 |
| Vanilla Crème Brûlée |
For my custard, I used half heavy cream and half milk. The crème brûlée was plenty rich and utterly delicious with flecks of vanilla beans running through every bite.
 |
| Green Tea (Matcha) Crème Brûlée |
Once upon a time, I worked in finance as an investment research associate. Every so often, we would go on roadshow presentations - lunches hosted by companies looking to hold an offering, selling company stock to raise funds. I'd be sitting there, listening and taking copious notes (fun times) that I'd need to turn into reports and such. At least these meetings came with a good meal. One time, I was at the Mandarin Oriental hotel in New York City for one of these roadshows and while I don't remember any other specifics about that day, I do remember the most delicious green tea crème brûlée served for dessert. I was really surprised by how good it was and that's why I've thought about green tea crème brûlée for years.
My husband and I enjoyed both the vanilla and green tea crème brûlée together and we tried to decide which we liked best. There was a lot of oohing and aahing in general and I think we remain undecided. The vanilla is such a classic - thoroughly sweet. Ironically, though the green tea tastes less sweet, there's actually a bit more sugar in it than the vanilla. Both are divine and I'm really glad I decided to finally ask Santa for my little kitchen torch.
