OMG. That was way too easy.

Yesterday I cooked what will probably be our last real meal here at Black Walnut: pan fried rib eye steak, spinach salad and...creme brule. Ryan and I luv us some creme brule and we pretty much order it for dessert at every restaurant that has it on the menu. I've never attempted it at home but decided to give it a try because it's Ryan's favorite and it was Father's Day.

It was SO easy that it's a little scary. Will I be tempted to make creme brule for dessert all the time now? Only time will tell.

This recipe makes 6 smaller servings or 3 larger servings. Our ramekins are on the bigger side and it was pretty rich, especially after the rib eye, but I was still trying to surreptitiously lick the bowl when no one was watching. Adapted from a recipe on epicurious.com.

Creme Brule
6 egg yolks
6 tbs of sugar
1 vanilla bean with the seeds scraped out
1 1/2 cups of whipping cream
More sugar for the carmelized topping.
Hot water

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Whisk eggs and sugar. Add vanilla bean seeds and whisk to combine. Gradually add the whipping cream until well mixed. Divide evenly among 6 small (or 3 large) ramekins and put into large roasting pan. Add hot water to the pan until it comes about halfway up to the ramekin dishes, being careful not to splash water into the dishes. Bake at 325 for 40 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand in the water an additional 30 minutes. Chill for at least 4 hours.

After the custards are thoroughly chilled, sprinkle sugar (about a teaspoon?) over the tops and swirl the dishes to evenly coat with sugar. We used one of those torches to burn/melt the sugar on top but you can also use the broiler of your oven. (Put rack on the highest position and broil for just about a minute, keeping an eye on the tops to avoid over burning.) Refrigerate for another two hours and serve with fresh berries and mint.