Peppermint Crème Brûlée

Name: Peppermint Crème Brûlée
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 5
Cuisine: Global
Ingredients: 6 egg yolks; 3 Tbsps peppermint schnapps; 5 hard peppermint candies, crushed; 1 sprig Garnishes: fresh raspberries, fresh mint; 118 milliliters sugar; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 473 milliliters whipping cream

Peppermint Crème Brûlée might be just the side dish you are searching for. One serving contains 521 calories, 5g of protein, and 41g of fat. This recipe serves 5. It is a good option if you're following a gluten free diet. It will be a hit at your Christmas event. From preparation to the plate, this recipe takes approximately 45 minutes. A mixture of garnishes: raspberries, peppermint schnapps, whipping cream, and a handful of other ingredients are all it takes to make this recipe so flavorful.

Instructions

Combine first 5 ingredients, stirring with a wire whisk until sugar dissolves and mixture is smooth.

Ingredients you will need

Sugar

Equipment you will use

Whisk

Pour mixture evenly into 5 (5- x 1-inch) round individual baking dishes; place dishes in a large roasting pan or a 15- x 10- x 1-inch jellyroll pan. Prepare 1/2-inch water bath (see Brle Basics below).

Ingredients you will need

Water

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Roasting Pan

Bake at 275 for 50 minutes or until almost set. Cool custards in water in pan on a wire rack.

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Water

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Wire Rack

Oven

Frying Pan

Remove from pan; cover and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.

Equipment you will use

Frying Pan

Sprinkle crushed peppermint candies evenly over each custard; place custards in jellyroll pan.

Ingredients you will need

Peppermint Crunch

Candy

Custard

Equipment you will use

Frying Pan

Broil 5 inches from heat (with electric oven door partially opened) until candies melt.

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Candy

Equipment you will use

Oven

Let stand 5 minutes to allow melted candies to harden.

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Candy

Garnish, if desired.

Note: Baking time is for 5- x 1-inch round individual baking dishes. As a general rule, to use 4-, 6-, or 8-ounce custard cups, bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes. When the crme brle is done, the center will still be slightly liquid and a knife will not come out clean. The yield will vary with different size dishes: For 4-ounce cups you'll get 10 servings, for 6-ounce cups you'll get 7 servings, and for 8-ounce cups you'll get 4 servings.

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Custard

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Oven

Knife

Don't panic when you see the term water bath. A water bath is simply a roasting pan or jellyroll pan filled with water. The water creates a cushion from the heat of the oven, allowing the custards to bake slowly without curdling.

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Water

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Roasting Pan

Oven

Don't burn yourself. Before you take the water bath out of the oven, remove some of the water with a basting bulb or a long-handled ladle.

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Water

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Ladle

Oven

When you broil the brown sugar, get the crme brles as close to the heating element as possible. To do this, place an inverted roasting pan on the top shelf of the oven; then place the crme brles on a baking sheet on top of the roasting pan.

Ingredients you will need

Brown Sugar

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Baking Sheet

Roasting Pan

Oven

An adventurous alternative to the broiler is a welding torch. Your dinner guests will think you have gone mad, but the torch gives the ultimate glassy crust. Torching is the professional chef's method of choice.

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Crust

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Broiler

Place the custards in a roasting pan filled with ice, and then broil them. The ice keeps the custards cold while the sugar melts.

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Sugar

Ice

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Roasting Pan

You can bake the crme brles ahead of time, but wait until just a few minutes before serving to caramelize the sugar. The caramelized sugar will begin to liquefy if the custards sit for more than an hour.

Ingredients you will need

Sugar

Equipment you will use

Oven

We found that Dixie Crystals brand brown sugar works best for crme brles. It caramelizes evenly to a perfect golden brown.

Ingredients you will need

Brown Sugar

Don't waste your money on salamanders sold in gourmet catalogs and used for caramelizing the top of crme brles. They work like branding irons to melt the brown sugar. When we tried one, we ended up with burnt--not caramelized--sugar.

Ingredients you will need

Brown Sugar

Sugar