french custard

Recipe video above. A classic French Crème Brûlée with a silky smooth rich custard and crunchy caramel top. It&#039;s a stunner – and so easy!

Crème Brûlée (French Vanilla Custard)

pure cream (Aus)

vanilla pod vanilla bean paste ((Note 2))

caster sugar ((superfine sugar))

tsp caster sugar ((superfine sugar))

Vanilla bean: Split vanilla pod down the middle and scrape the seeds out using a small knife. Place into saucepan with cream and the empty vanilla pod.

Infuse cream: Simmer uncovered over low heat for 10 minutes. Remove from stove and set aside to infuse for 1 hour with lid on (you can skip this step if using paste, just let it cool to lukewarm). Remove vanilla pod. Skim off any skin that has formed on the surface.

Preparation: Preheat oven to 130°C/265°F (120°C fan). Place 4 x ⅔ cup / 150 ml empty ramekins in a baking pan with high enough sides that enough water can be poured in to come halfway up ramekins.

Boil water: Boil a kettle of water.

Whisk egg yolks and sugar: Whisk yolks and sugar until just well combined. Don&#039;t whisk too much, as this can create bubbles.

Add cream: Pour cream into eggs and gently stir to combine. Divide mixture between ramekins with a soup ladle.

Water bath: Pour in enough boiling water so it comes halfway up the sides of the ramekins. (If you have too much water, ramekins will float around - not good!)

Bake: Bake for 35 - 40 minutes, or until the custard is set but there is still a slight wobble when you GENTLY give the ramekin a little shake.

Chill: Remove ramekins from water. Leave to cool, then refrigerate for at least 6 hours and preferably overnight (up to 3 days is OK).

Blow torch method: Sprinkle 1/2 tsp sugar over the surface of each crème brûlée. Use a blow torch to melt and caramelise the sugar. Serve immediately.

Grill / broiler method: Crème brûlée should be first refrigerated overnight. Preheat grill to high. Place crème brûlée under grill for 1 minute or until sugar is melted and caramelised. Refrigerate afterwards for at least 20 minutes and up to 1 hour (to reset custard immediately under toffee), then serve.

Crème brûlée perfect texture: The texture should be like a very thick yogurt, rather than set so it is sliceable like cake or even like a soft set jelly. When you take a scoop, the custard should barely hold together, but shouldn&#039;t be melting or running. When you take a bite the custard should literally just melt in your mouth.

Toffee Topping

French pastry cream, crème pâtissière, or vanilla pastry cream is a thick French custard used to make profiteroles, cream puffs, eclairs, tarts, etc. Learn how to make it like a pro.

French Pastry Cream (Crème Pâtissière)

+ 2 teaspoons (75 g) granulated sugar

(25 g) cornstarch

(25 g) all-purpose flour

vanilla bean,

+ 2 tablespoons (500 ml) whole milk

gelatin

Using a flour sifter, sift all-purpose flour and cornstarch in a large bowl and place aside. Soak gelatin sheets in cold water for 10 minutes.

Separate the egg yolks from the whites using an egg separator and place the yolks in a mixing bowl. Add sugar and beat it with a hand whisk for 20 seconds. Then add the sifted dry ingredients and whisk until the mixture is thick and whitish.

Pour milk into a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Split a vanilla bean in half lengthwise, scrape the seeds with a knife, and add them and the pod to the milk. Cover the pot with a lid and bring milk to a boil over low heat to infuse the vanilla flavor into the milk.

Pro tip

Make sure to pour milk gradually and whisk constantly. Otherwise, the mixture might curdle and resemble sweet scrambled eggs. Just remember that egg yolks start to cook at about 60-70°C.

Pour the tempered yolk mixture back into the remaining milk and mix well. Return the saucepan to low-medium heat and stir vigorously with a hand whisk to prevent the cream from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Note

The cream should boil for 2 minutes. While the gelatinization of wheat starch occurs from 52 to 64°C, gelatinization of cornstarch - from 62 to 74°C, the boiling temperature is still necessary for the thickening of the cream. Also, boiling for at least 1.5 minutes is required to sterilize the cream.

Optionally, add the drained gelatine (optionally) to the hot cream and mix to dissolve it. Add very cold butter, cut into small pieces, and mix.

Pass the cream through a fine sieve, pour it into a shallow dish, and cover with cling film on contact. The plastic wrap should touch the surface of the cream to prevent the formation of the crust. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

To use, whip the cold pastry cream with an electric mixer for 2 minutes or vigorously with a hand whisk. This will aerate the cream and restore its homogeneity and suppleness before using it.

Thanks for the recipe. I made eclairs filling them with pastry cream. Yummy and delicious!!

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Top 2 french custard recipes from across the web

The most viewed french custard recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Crème Brûlée (French Vanilla Custar...

French Pastry Cream (Crème Pâtissiè...

The most viewed french custard recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine