Taste Buds: French Dinner! Part 4: Coffee-Caramel Crème Brûlée

I cannot believe I forgot to post the dessert installment of our French Dinner series. I only remembered when I had to write my final Activite Culturelle paper for my French class. I have made this dessert two times now and I must say, it doesn’t matter how long it seems to take. It is definitely something that’s worth all the effort. Thanks again to Epicurious for truly being the cook’s companion.

Here’s what you need:

2 cups heavy whipping cream, divided
1/4 cup dark-roast coffee beans (such as French roast; about 3/4 ounce), crushed with mallet in plastic bag
1 cup sugar, divided
1/2 cup water
2 cups half and half
8 large egg yolks
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 teaspoons raw sugar

And how it’s done:

Simmer the coffee beans in 1 cup of cream in a heavy small saucepan. Then, remove it from heat and cover to let it steep for at least 20 minutes to about 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 325°F. In a heavy medium saucepan, Dissolve 2/3 cup of sugar in 1/2 cup of water over low heat. Increase the temperature to boil the mixture, but make sure you brush the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush so that it won’t stick. Boil this mixture without stirring until it’s deep amber in color. This takes about 11 minutes. Remove the mixture from heat and add the remaining 1 cup of whipping cream. The mixture will bubble because the cream is cold and the syrup is hot. This makes your caramel and stir over low heat until it is smooth. Stir in half and half. Lastly, strain the coffee-infused cream into the caramel cream. You can go ahead and throw away the coffee beans.

In a large bowl, whisk yolks, salt and remaining 1/3 cup of sugar. Gradually whisk in the cream mixture. This now makes your custard. Strain this custard into a large measuring cup.

In a roasting pan, place eight 2/3-3/4 cup ramekins or custard cups. Add enough warm water to roasting pan up to halfway the sides of the ramekins or custard cups. Divide the custard among the ramekins. Place this in your oven and bake for 65 to 70 minutes. After baking, transfer the custards from the water bath to the refrigerator and chill uncovered for at least 3 hours to 1 day.

When you’re just about ready to serve, sprinkle the top of each custard with raw sugar. And, my favorite, using a kitchen torch, melt the sugar on each custard until it’s deep amber. If you do not have a torch, you can preheat a broiler and arrange the custards on a rimmed baking sheet. Broil until the sugar melts, approximately 2 minutes. Refrigerate the custards until the top hardens, about 30 minutes to an hour but not longer than that because the topping will start to soften. And, serve and enjoy!!