# Cinnamon Creme Brulee Scrambled



## bixon032 (Feb 8, 2013)

Need some help from some professional Pastry Chefs
I made a creme brulee (I make tons of them) and when i got it out of the oven the eggs looked separated. I wouldn't really say scrambled but maybe they were.
I'm so confused about this because i made a regular batch of creme brulees and they were fine. I made them both at the same time same oven and same temp. Someone tell me what i did wrong or what caused my problem.... Please..
Recipe:
10 egg yolks
1 Qt of Heavy cream
8 oz Sugar
3/4 cup of Kahlua
1/8 cup of Vodka (Stolys)
2tsp Cayenne
1tsp Cinnamon
1tsp Salt
1 T cocoa Powder
Cooked on 320 low fan for 45 min. and then an additional 10 min. 
The temp out of the oven was 205 degrees.
I tempered the eggs correctly.
This is just a recipe i am playing with at the moment. 2nd batch did the same thing. Is it the salt or alcohol that is causing this?
Thanks everyone.


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## chefpeon (Jun 14, 2006)

Considering the fact that you can cook an egg with alcohol (alcohol denatures the proteins in the egg and "cooks" it), the addition of the vodka (not so much the kahlua) basically pre-cooks and curdles your eggs before the brulees even hit the oven. Once out of the oven, the curdled effect is even more apparent. There really is no reason for the vodka there in the first place. Leave it out. I would further reduce the amount of alcohol by adding less Kahlua or just substituting the Kahlua with instant espresso granules or strongly brewed coffee. You really don't want the brulees to taste like alcohol anyway, do you? I know I wouldnt.


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## bixon032 (Feb 8, 2013)

Chefpeon,
Thanks for the reply. I was wondering if it was the salt or the vodka. Thanks and i'll try that tomorrow.


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## Pat Pat (Sep 26, 2017)

This is not related to your question but do you always cook your crème brûlée to 205°F?

If you makes tons of them, you can save a lot of time and energy by not going above 185°F.


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## flipflopgirl (Jun 27, 2012)

chefpeon said:


> Considering the fact that you can cook an egg with alcohol (alcohol denatures the proteins in the egg and "cooks" it), the addition of the vodka (not so much the kahlua) basically pre-cooks and curdles your eggs before the brulees even hit the oven. Once out of the oven, the curdled effect is even more apparent. There really is no reason for the vodka there in the first place. Leave it out. I would further reduce the amount of alcohol by adding less Kahlua or just substituting the Kahlua with instant espresso granules or strongly brewed coffee. You really don't want the brulees to taste like alcohol anyway, do you? I know I wouldnt.


This was my thinking as well....
mimi


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## bixon032 (Feb 8, 2013)

Pat Pat said:


> This is not related to your question but do you always cook your crème brûlée to 205°F?
> 
> If you makes tons of them, you can save a lot of time and energy by not going above 185°F.


PatPat, 
No that was just this temp when it came out. I don't always go to 205. Not sure why it did that


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## CP852 (Nov 13, 2017)

Just my two cents - but if you really want the Kahlua in there - add some on top just before you torch the sugar - gives it a nice little flavor without compromising your texture of the actual creme - just a dap mind you, don't want the sugar to become wet - kinda hard to caramelize it then


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## chefpeon (Jun 14, 2006)

CP852 said:


> Just my two cents - but if you really want the Kahlua in there - add some on top just before you torch the sugar - gives it a nice little flavor without compromising your texture of the actual creme - just a dap mind you, don't want the sugar to become wet - kinda hard to caramelize it then


I don't see how that would work at all. First, any moisture is going to prevent the sugar from caramelizing properly, and by the time the sugar does caramelize, the Kahlua would be completely evaporated off by that point. Then the caramelization would completely mask any Kahlua flavor that might be left.


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