Happy New Year! The beginning of the new calendar year is historically the perfect time for new resolutions and the resolve to accomplish them. There is the feeling that everything is bright and shiny new, a clean slate on which to build a better version of yourself. I have never been that keen on personal, yearly resolutions but after a December chock-full of sugar, I have decided to go sugar-free for January. An entire month without refined sugars of all sorts is something that has actually caused me some anxiety – proof in itself that sugar has such a firm grasp on my psyche that I need to sever the ties a bit. But I couldn’t do that before I rang in the New Year with this elegant dessert from the Iron Horse Hotel.
Crème brûlée has been around at least since the 1600s according to my Oxford Companion to Food, and it’s easy to see why. It is insanely simple, a rich, impossibly smooth custard made only of cream, sugar, and egg yolks, and flavored with anything from classic vanilla to herbaceous rosemary – or in this case, Sprecher Cream Soda. This recipe is even more dead simple because you don’t even need to beat the sugar and egg yolks together. Stirring only with a spoon, the mixture rests for a day to allow any air bubbles to disperse, and in my opinion, allow for complete dissolving of the granulated sugar.
If I had to choose a sweet with which to begin my sugar fast, I couldn’t beat this one. It wrapped me up in it’s arms, the mellow kiss of sugar bidding me goodbye for our month-long break with such intensity it figured to ensure my complete return come February. We’ll see about that, since my long term goal for 2012 is to greatly reduce my sugar consumption long after January is in the books. Preparing for such a sugar departure made me really concentrate on this dessert however, savoring the hint of reduced cream soda and committing to memory the satisfying crack of the lovely sugar crust under the weight of my spoon.
I don’t usually stock vanilla beans for my sweet kitchen pantry, but have a little jar of vanilla bean paste that can stand in on demand. If you use a whole vanilla bean, scrape the seeds from the pod (reserve the pod for flavoring sugar) and add to the portion of cream as you heat it. If you are using vanilla bean paste, simply add it to the mix along with the cold cream.
The original recipe makes 18 4oz. portions, but I used a quarter recipe as not to completely overdue it on my pre-sugar-fast dessert. My yield for the amounts listed was 3 4oz. ramekins and 1 2oz. ramekin. The full scale recipe is in parenthesis. Remember to begin the day before you want to bake.
Sprecher Cream Soda Crème Brûlée (Chef Maikel Correa, Iron Horse Kitchens)
3.75 oz. egg yolks (I used 6 egg yolks to equal this weight) {15 oz. egg yolks)
¼ c. granulated sugar {1 c.}
½ c. Sprecher cream soda {2 c.}
10 oz. heavy cream, divided {1 ¼ quarts, or 5 c.}
¼ t. vanilla bean paste {1 vanilla bean}
additional sugar for caramelizing on top (about 1 T. per serving)
Reduce the cream soda by half. In a shallow pan, bring the soda to a simmer and continue simmering until reduced. This took about 5 minutes for me, and I weighed my amount (4 oz.) before and after to ensure I had reduced correctly. Let it cool to room temperature.
Mix sugar, egg yolks, and cooled cream soda reduction together, but do not whip.
Heat half (5 oz.) of the heavy cream to a simmer, but do not let it boil. You should see little bubbles forming around the edges of the pan. Remove from heat.
Temper the eggs by adding a bit of the hot cream mixture and stirring quickly. Then, as you are still stirring, add the entire amount of hot cream. Pour through a fine sieve (to remove any possibility of cooked egg) into a clean bowl, and add the cold cream and the vanilla bean paste. Let the mixture sit and relax (covered and refrigerated) overnight.
Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Pour mixture into 4 oz. ramekins or oven safe dishes. (You will bake this in a water bath, so put the ramekins into a cake pan or other pan deep enough to allow you to pour water around the dishes up to the half-way point.) Bake for 1 ½ hours, or until the centers are set and the custards are just set and wiggle a bit in the center when tapped on the side.
Remove from the oven to a rack to cool completely, then refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to three days. 30 minutes prior to eating, remove from the refrigerator to warm slightly to room temperature. Just before serving, sprinkle about 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar over each custard, and caramelize sugar with a torch. If you do not have a torch, you may try putting them under the broiler. This is a good link for crème brûlée tips.
There are few kitchen implements that I get more excited about than my kitchen torch, and yet I’ve barely used it. I purchased it originally for my Daring Baker Challenge of Baked Alaska, but have used it to toast homemade marshmallows and now finally to caramelize a perfect crackly sugar coated creme brulee. I got it at the Superior Restaurant Supply near my house, and it was worth it. It may only be good for one thing, but it does a great job at it. Now that I’ve rekindled my fondness for it, I may remember to break it out more often, though maybe not for desserts until February…
Will I make my goal of sugar reduction a reality? Time will tell. The newness of January is certainly inspiring me so far. You can check in with my sugar-free January journey on the Sugar-Free January Facebook page I’m sharing with my friend Julia of What Julia Ate. We will be talking about our sugar woes and healthy ideas for the new year. I’ll also be posting links of sugary treats I’d make if I could – which I didn’t anticipate being so strangely satisfying. I am planning on doing a bit of research into sugar for the remainder of the month as well since I want to know just what it is that makes sugar so addicting to me!
Do you have food goals for 2012? Good luck to you if you do, and my sincere wishes for a happy and healthy new year!
