Easy No Bake Creme Brulee

Creme Brulee…it’s a weakness. Seriously, it’s one of my favorite things in the world, but it’s not something that you can just order off of any ole dessert menu. Around my neck of the woods you pretty much have be eating at a restaurant where your sides are ordered separately from your main dish (aka expensive) for this little treat to be available. I basically get giddy like a kid on Christmas when I know it’s one of the two or three times a year that we get to visit one of these establishments – like I can’t sleep the night leading up to the big day. If he really wants to get lucky, hubby probably has, no he does, have a better shot if he takes me for Creme Brulee than liquor or wine…I love it that much. Don’t judge!

 

 

That being said, when you start talking about double boilers and strainers I get a little spooked regardless of how delicious the custard goodness may be.  So in my search to find a recipe that I could actually make at home, I came across some Creme Brulee mix kits. Easy yes, but I wanted something a little more “authentic” – I know, make up my mind right? So what I did was basically take the old school fancy recipes, and look at the ingredients that seemed to be in all the pre-made kits, and meshed them all together in what turned out to be a darn good Seriously Easy No Bake Creme Brulee.

 

No Bake Creme Brulee 

Yield: 4 Servings

Ingredients

1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream

1 cup Whole Milk

5 egg yolks

1/2 cup granulated sugar (plus extra to sprinkle on top)

2 tbsp corn starch

1 tsp. vanilla

Directions

•  In a medium saucepan, combine the cream, milk, vanilla and sugar. Place over medium heat and stir to dissolve the sugar. Heat just until the mixture is steaming, but not quite boiling.

• Whisk the egg yolks and cornstarch together in a medium bowl and add the hot cream mixture in a slow steady stream while whisking constantly. (The takeaway from this — never stop whisking or you will have lumps.)

 

 

 

• Pour mixture back into the saucepan and return to medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly with a spatula until mixture is thickened. This will take 3-5 minutes. Once thickened, cook for an additional 1 minute, while continuing to stir.

 

• Remove from heat and pour into individual ramekins. Place in the fridge, uncovered, to set up for about 2 hours.

 

 

 

• When ready to serve, sprinkle ramekins generously with granulated sugar and caramelize using one of the two methods below.

Caramelizing the Sugar