Old me never ordered creme brulee from restaurants. Mainly because I thought it was flan in disguise and I wanted no parts of that. But can you blame me? I’ve tried flan more than once and I continue to not be a fan. I thought that since the two desserts sometimes looked similar – they were, in fact, the same. Boy was I wrong. I knew I was wrong way before I even tried to make this cardamom creme brulee. Now that I’ve made it: there’s no going back.
So maybe you’re thinking: wait, aren’t flan and creme brulee the same? And the answer would be absolutely not. First thing, the texture. I’m a huge textures person when it comes to food. In fact, a lot of the foods I don’t enjoy are not necessarily because of their flavor but because of the disgusting texture (hello mayo). Actually you can add baked apples to that too. I know that may sound weird but barf. I love a yummy, crisp apple (Honeycrisp apples are my jam) but once you bake them the texture if off-putting and it ruins my mouth. Do you want to know the funny thing about all of this?
I love apple pie.
Before you ask, yes, I typically pick the apples out. I’m a toddler.
Alright, anyway – let’s move on. Flan is really jiggly and I don’t like it. Creme brulee is more creamy in texture like a pudding. What I love most about creme brulee is that you can really get pretty creative with the different flavors.
Cardamom creme brulee
Despite the fancy French name, IT’S SO EASY TO MAKE AT HOME. I promise. I’m never going to share a dessert with you that’s too complex. I like the result of baking though not always the process but trust me when I say, this cardamom creme brulee very easy to replicate.
I was a little nervous about making it because I wanted to texture to be perfect. I did not, under no circumstances, want a jiggly, jell-o texture. Creamy and smooth is what we were aiming for and thank goodness, that’s what we got. Even though you can certainly make creme brulee without a culinary torch, I’m very, very thankful we have one. If you don’t want to invest in a torch, you can turn your oven’s broiler on to get the same-ish results.
Listen, even if you’re not planning on making tons of cardamom creme brulee at home, a kitchen torch can still be very useful to you in the kitchen. You can easily find things to use it for – I have. Another thing to keep in mind when you’re making creme brulee is that besides the creamy and smooth texture, you’re also looking for a hard, bruleed top. That is the key. When you finally dig into it, it should almost be like ice breaking. Ahhh! I got so much joy breaking into my creme brulee.
Promise me you’ll make this. You won’t regret it.
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups heavy cream
- 1 ½ tablespoons whole cardamom
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Pinch ground cinnamon
- 1 cup granulated sugar, plus more for finishing
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 4 large egg yolks
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 325 degrees. While the oven is heating up, heat, heat a large pot of water and let it come to a simmer. Meanwhile, place 4-6 ramekins in a baking pan. Set aside.
- Combine the cream, cardamom, vanilla and cinnamon in a medium pot. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cover and steep for about 20 minutes. Strain to remove the cardamom. Return the cream mixture to the pot.
- Add the sugar and salt to the cream and whisk over medium-low heat until it's warm and the sugar is dissolved. In a separate bowl (a large one that is heat-resistant), whisk the egg yolks together.
- When the sugar has fully dissolved, gradually pour the cream mixture into the bowl with the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Mix until well combined.
- Pour the warm water in the baking pan where the ramekins are. Transfer the mixture to a container with a pour spout and gently pour the custard into the ramekins, filling each just below the rim.
- Transfer the baking pan to the oven. Bake until the custards are set at the edges but still a little jiggly in the center, 45 to 50 minutes.
- Remove the custards from the water bath to cool at room temperature, then refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to overnight.
- Sprinkle about 2 teaspoons granulated sugar on top of each cooled custard (tilt the ramekin around to help coat the surface evenly). Use a kitchen torch to caramelize the sugar to an even amber color. Serve immediately.
