# Vanilla Creme Brulee



## sbk465 (Jun 20, 2009)

So, I'm trying to make my vanilla creme brulee so that the beans are suspended throughout the custard. I'd really prefer not to have this thick layer on the bottom of the ramekin.

I've tried cooking the custard just slightly longer on the stovetop (multiple attempts to temperatures between 70-75 C), with little success. By the time it thickens enough to suspend the beans, the custard curdles when cooked in the oven.

Anyone have any ideas?


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## m brown (May 29, 1999)

Have you tried real vanilla bean paste or powder? 
The seeds are heavier than the cream so you may want to use a product that has been manipulated like a powder as it has the moisture taken out. 
Try drying the pods in sugar and pulverizing, sift out the larger bits and try that. (again the dehydration of the seed...) 
Let us know how it goes!


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## jakem (Jun 11, 2009)

I think i would treat it like kiwi seeds in a sorbet. Make the brulee, strain through a filter and only add some of the seeds back. Since you don't want to stir your brulee while it is setting fewer seeds is the only way I can think of keeping them clumping. Good Luck.


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## galit (Mar 28, 2007)

Use real vanilla beans (Tahitian will be good)

Let it steam with the custard- wrap it with plastic for a few minutes.

Maybe you can put it in the cooler for overnight to get the flavoes too?

Beans will deff make the difference.


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## jessiquina (Nov 4, 2005)

chill your brulee base over night. it will thicken up the cream.. and some of the beans will stay suspended after you wisk it a little before pouring into ramekins.


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## line_grunt (Jul 1, 2009)

I do brulee by using uht whipping cream. 600 ml to 2 vanilla pods. I scrape the seeds and put them in as well as the pods themselves. I cook these i wth a tbsp of sugar over a medium heat until it boils them i switch to low heat so it doesn't curdle.

Whilst this is cooking, I whisk 7 egg yolks to 100ml caster sugar until creamy and pale yellow. When the cream is ready i add 1/3 of it to the yolk and sugar mix and whisk that some more to get it more fluffy. This should make a basic custard.

I then add that mix back into the rest of the cream and cook a little more on low heat. I am whisking all the time to stop lumps and to properly disperse the vanilla seeds. The consistency of the custard should by now hold the seeds well enough through the mixture.

Once i finish cooking I fill a deep pan with about 1cm of hot water and place my ramekins in it. I fish out the vanilla seed pods and discard them, then fill my ramekins to about 1cm below the lip of the ramekin. I cover in alfoil and place in the hottest section of our kitchen aga. An oven chould work the same, not sure of temp though so I won't guess

Pull out brulee when still wobbly. usually 15-20 minutes in aga. and remove from pan and allow to cool. Use demerara sugar on top and cook off with blow torch.

So the seeds should be well dispersed. Using a fine whisk instead of a stirring spoon at all times seems to achieve a nice finish, however sometimes I find my brulees deflate and from my experience I can take a guess that this is due to not whisking the egg yolks long enough at first. 

This recipe works pretty well for me, this recipe should make 6 brulees, if you want more just double, triple etc. I hope it helps mate. Good luck with the seed issue


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## chef pd (Apr 18, 2013)

Funny how my Sous Chef and I were trying to tackle the same thing. After several R&D attempts we came up with this:

1. The vanilla beans will stay suspended in a cooler custard base, no more than 90F.

2. The creaming of the egg yolks and sugar are key as well. The sugar must be fully creamed/dissolved in the eggs before adding the steeped vanilla bean flavored base.

We first scraped the seeds fro the pod and set them aside. Then the pods were combined with the cream, heated to 120F, turned off the heat and allowed to rest on the counter until the temp of the cream was 90F.

In the meantime the eggs, sugar and vanilla beans were creamed together by hand, about 8-10 minutes depending on how conditioned your muscles are 0_0

Strain the flavored cream through a fine mesh strainer into a 4 qt pitcher. Gently incorporate the cream into the creamed egg mix, forming as little as bubbles as possible.

We find that baking the custard in a covered water bath at 300F for 45-50 yields the best results. Make sure your oven is calibrated too. If using a convection oven bring the temp down to 285F.

Hope this helps!


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