Read The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook Online
Authors: The Editors at America's Test Kitchen
Tags: #Cooking
The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook (361 page)
PREVENTING DAIRY DISASTER
Why does milk have a tendency to boil over more often than any other liquid? Milk (and cream) contains casein proteins that gather near the surface as they heat. Once the milk comes to a boil, steam bubbles rising from the bottom of the pot are forced through the protein-rich layer at the top. The proteins stabilize the bubbles, keeping them from bursting, so they rapidly increase in number and overwhelm the pan. Then, whoosh—dairy disaster.
We tried several techniques purported to prevent the problem, from leaving a long-handled spoon in the pot to buttering the pan’s rim. While such methods delayed the boilover, the only surefire solution was to use a larger pan (a full 4-quart saucepan for a pint of milk, a size we would normally consider far too large for the task). In a pot with a small circumference, the bubbles are tightly packed, with little room to expand. But in a pot with a large diameter, the bubbles can grow bigger and bigger until even the reinforcement provided by the casein proteins can’t prevent them from popping. As a result, there are never enough bubbles to overwhelm the capacity of the pan. In sum, to keep milk from boiling over, heat it in a big, wide pan.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
What many people love about crème caramel is the caramel. But while we can’t deny its appeal, what most concerned us when we decided to embark on a search for a really great crème caramel was the custard. We wanted custard that was creamy and tender enough to melt in our mouths, yet firm enough to unmold without collapsing on the serving plate. We were also looking for a mellow flavor that was neither too rich nor too eggy. We discovered that the proportion of egg whites to yolks in the custard was critical for the right texture. Too many whites caused the custard to solidify too much, and too few left it almost runny. We settled on a formula of three whole eggs and two yolks. Light cream and milk for the dairy component provided the proper amount of richness. For contrast with the sweet caramel, we kept the amount of sugar in the custard to a minimum. Baking the ramekins in a water bath was essential for even cooking and ensured a delicate custard; a kitchen towel on the bottom of the pan stabilized the ramekins and prevented the bottoms of the custards from overcooking. When we unmolded our crème caramel on serving plates, the sweet caramel sauce bathed the rounds of perfectly cooked custard.
See “REMOVING CRÈME CARAMEL FROM A WATER BATH” illustration that follows recipe.
SERVES 8
You can vary the amount of sugar in the custard to suit your taste. Most tasters preferred the full ²⁄
3
cup, but you can reduce that amount to as little as ¹⁄
2
cup to create a greater contrast between the custard and the caramel. Cook the caramel in a pan with a light-colored interior, since a dark surface makes it difficult to judge the color of the syrup. Caramel can leave a real mess in a pan, but it is easy to clean; simply boil water in the pan for 5 to 10 minutes to loosen the hardened caramel.
CARAMEL
¹⁄ | cup water |
2 | tablespoons light corn syrup |
¹⁄ | teaspoon lemon juice |
1 | cup (7 ounces) sugar |
CUSTARD
1¹⁄ | cups whole milk |
1¹⁄ | cups light cream |
3 | large eggs plus 2 large yolks |
²⁄ | cup (4²⁄ |
1¹⁄ | teaspoons vanilla extract |
Pinch salt |
1. FOR THE CARAMEL:
Combine water, corn syrup, and lemon juice in medium saucepan. Pour sugar into center of pan, taking care not to let sugar crystals touch pan sides. Gently stir with spatula to moisten sugar thoroughly. Bring to boil over medium-high heat and cook, without stirring, until sugar is completely dissolved and liquid is clear, 6 to 10 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to cook, swirling occasionally, until mixture darkens to honey color, 4 to 5 minutes longer. Working quickly, carefully divide caramel among eight 6-ounce ramekins. Let caramel cool and harden, about 15 minutes. (Caramel-coated ramekins can be refrigerated for up to 2 days; bring to room temperature before adding custard.)
2. FOR THE CUSTARD:
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine milk and cream in medium saucepan and heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until steam appears and mixture registers 160 degrees, 6 to 8 minutes; remove from heat. Meanwhile, gently whisk eggs, egg yolks, and sugar in large bowl until just combined. Off heat, gently whisk warm milk mixture, vanilla, and salt into eggs until just combined but not foamy. Strain mixture through fine-mesh strainer into 4-cup liquid measuring cup or bowl; set aside.
3.
Bring kettle of water to boil. Meanwhile, place kitchen towel in bottom of large baking dish or roasting pan and set ramekins on towel (they should not touch). Divide custard evenly among ramekins and set dish on oven rack. Taking care not to splash water into ramekins, pour enough boiling water into dish to come halfway up sides of ramekins; cover dish loosely with aluminum foil. Bake until paring knife inserted halfway between center and edge of custards comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Transfer ramekins to wire rack and let cool to room temperature. (Custards can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.)
4.
To unmold, run paring knife around perimeter of each ramekin. Hold serving plate over top of ramekin and invert; set plate on counter and gently shake ramekin to release custard. Repeat with remaining ramekins and serve.
Espresso beans ground in a coffee grinder would be too fine and impart too strong a coffee flavor to the custard. Instead, crush the beans lightly with the bottom of a skillet.
Heat ¹⁄
2
cup lightly crushed espresso beans with milk and cream mixture until steam appears and mixture registers 160 degrees, 6 to 8 minutes. Off heat, cover and let steep until coffee has infused milk and cream, about 15 minutes. Strain mixture through fine-mesh strainer and proceed as directed, discarding crushed espresso beans. Reduce vanilla extract to 1 teaspoon.
We recommend removing ramekins from water bath with tongs, preferably rubber-tipped for sure grip. If you don’t own this style of tongs, simply slip rubber band around each tip.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
Crème brûlée is all about the contrast between the crisp sugar crust and the silky custard underneath. But too often the crust is either stingy or rock-hard, and the custard is heavy and tasteless. We found that the secret to a soft, supple custard was using egg yolks rather than whole eggs. Heavy cream gave the custard a luxurious richness. Sugar, a vanilla bean, and a pinch of salt were the only other additions. Many recipes use scalded cream, but we found that this resulted in overcooked custard, so we left the ingredients cold. However, we needed heat to extract flavor from the vanilla bean and dissolve the sugar. Our compromise was to heat only half of the cream with the sugar and vanilla bean and add the remaining cream cold, which worked perfectly. For the crust, we used crunchy turbinado sugar and a propane or butane torch worked better than the broiler for caramelizing the sugar, and because the blast of heat inevitably warms the custard beneath the crust, we chilled our crèmes brûlées once more before serving.
See “CARAMELIZING CRÈME BRÛLÉE” illustration that follows recipe.
SERVES 8
Separate the eggs and whisk the yolks after the cream has finished steeping; if left to sit, the surface of the yolks will dry and form a film. A vanilla bean gives the custard the deepest flavor, but 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract, whisked into the yolks in step 4, can be used instead. While we prefer turbinado or Demerara sugar for the caramelized sugar crust, regular granulated sugar will work, too, but use only 1 scant teaspoon on each ramekin or 1 teaspoon on each shallow fluted dish.
1 | vanilla bean |
4 | cups heavy cream |
²⁄ | cup (4²⁄ |
Pinch salt | |
12 | large egg yolks |
8–12 | teaspoons turbinado or Demerara sugar |
1.
Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees.
2.
Cut vanilla bean in half lengthwise. Using tip of paring knife, scrape out seeds. Combine vanilla bean and seeds, 2 cups cream, sugar, and salt in medium saucepan. Bring mixture to boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally to dissolve sugar. Off heat, let steep for 15 minutes.
3.
Meanwhile, place kitchen towel in bottom of large baking dish or roasting pan; set eight 4- or 5-ounce ramekins (or shallow fluted dishes) on towel (they should not touch). Bring kettle of water to boil.
4.
After cream has steeped, stir in remaining 2 cups cream. Whisk egg yolks in large bowl until uniform. Whisk about 1 cup cream mixture into yolks until combined; repeat with 1 cup more cream mixture. Add remaining cream mixture and whisk until evenly colored and thoroughly combined. Strain mixture through fine-mesh strainer into large liquid measuring cup or bowl; discard solids in strainer. Divide mixture evenly among ramekins.
5.
Set baking dish on oven rack. Taking care not to splash water into ramekins, pour enough boiling water into dish to reach two-thirds up sides of ramekins. Bake until centers of custards are just barely set and register 170 to 175 degrees, 30 to 35 minutes (25 to 30 minutes for shallow fluted dishes), checking temperature about 5 minutes before recommended minimum time.
6.
Transfer ramekins to wire rack and let cool to room temperature, about 2 hours. Set ramekins on baking sheet, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until cold, at least 4 hours.
7.
Uncover ramekins; if condensation has collected on custards, blot moisture with paper towel. Sprinkle each with about 1 teaspoon turbinado sugar (1¹⁄
2
teaspoons for shallow fluted dishes); tilt and tap each ramekin to distribute sugar evenly, dumping out excess sugar. Ignite torch and caramelize sugar. Refrigerate ramekins, uncovered, to rechill, 30 to 45 minutes; serve.
Crush the espresso beans lightly with the bottom of a skillet.
Substitute ¹⁄
4
cup lightly crushed espresso beans for vanilla bean. Whisk 1 teaspoon vanilla extract into yolks in step 4 before adding cream.
Substitute 10 Irish Breakfast tea bags, tied together, for vanilla bean; after steeping, squeeze bags with tongs or press into fine-mesh strainer to extract all liquid. Whisk 1 teaspoon vanilla extract into yolks in step 4 before adding cream.
Substitute 11 by 7-inch baking dish for ramekins and bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Let cool to room temperature, 2¹⁄
2
to 3 hours.
Reduce egg yolks to 10. After baked custards cool to room temperature, wrap each ramekin tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 4 days. Proceed with step 7.