Creme Brulee

Creme brulee (sorry yes I know that it's supposed to have a bunch of accents and whatever but I don't know how to type those) was the dessert part of my New Year's Eve extravaganza. It's my dad's favorite dessert, and although it seems complicated, it just takes a little bit of care and other than that it's simple and fun. You will need ramekins, a large casserole pan, and a torch.
My mom bought the torch we have for my dad years ago, but we never actually used it until I made creme brulee. You need butane gas for it, so don't forget that! The torch is for caramelizing the sugar on top of the creme brulee, which gives it a nice hard "shell" or "crust". I've been able to do the same thing with the broiler in my oven, but it's much fussier and it heats up the custard, so you have to cool it back down again. The torch is much easier.
As for the ramekins, make them all the same size. I didn't, and while most turned out okay, the medium sized ones didn't bake correctly and remained mostly liquid. I took the smallest ones out first and left the rest in for a little while longer, which worked for most of them. You'll notice that I didn't have enough ramekins, so I used some small glass bowls. The smaller one turned out well, but the medium ones (about the same size as the medium ramekins) had the same liquid fate.

Keep in mind that these have to chill for about 3 hours, so make sure to leave plenty of time in advance of when you need them. The cooked custards can be kept in the fridge for up to three days after you bake them, and just caramelized as needed.
One of my favorite sounds in the world is the sound of a spoon cracking the burned sugar top of a creme brulee.

Also PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE use high quality vanilla for this. I used my Madagascar vanilla and my mother, who doesn't normally like creme brulee, loved it. It really showcases the vanilla so the better vanilla you use, the better it will turn out. And save the egg whites to make an angel food cake!

Creme Brulee

Ingredients

4 cups heavy cream

1 T vanilla

10 egg yolks

3/4 cup sugar

1 T sugar for each ramekin (for the top)

Instructions

1. Pour the cream and the vanilla into a sauce pan and simmer over medium-low heat.
2. Whip the egg yolks with the sugar until pale yellow and thick.
3. Whip yolks while you very slowly drizzle in one cup of the warm cream. Once the first cup is added, slowly add the remaining cream.
4. Place ramekins into a large casserole pan. Pour custard mixture into ramekins (I poured the mixture into a large measuring cup for this). Pour water into the bottom of the casserole until it comes halfway up the ramekins. Bake for 30-45 minutes, or until just set. Do not allow to get brown (I generally find it easier to take out the ramekins individually rather than trying to remove the whole pan. Leave the pan in the oven as it cools so that the water cools down and it becomes safer to handle).
5. Cool ramekins on countertop, then chill for at least 2-3 hours, covered in plastic wrap.
6. To serve, sprinkle 1 T of sugar over each ramekin of custard. Use a torch to quickly and carefully brown the sugar. There should be a thin, crisp surface of burned sugar on the top.
7. Eat.

Source: The Pioneer Woman