Vanilla Crème Brûlée

[Dept of PMM Artists & things]

Ingredients

1 cup(s) light cream or half-and-half
1 cup(s) heavy or whipping cream
1 1/2 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract
5 large egg yolks
1/3 cup(s) granulated sugar
2 tablespoon(s) dark brown sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Into 13" by 9" metal baking pan, pour 3 1/2 cups hot tap water; place in oven.
In microwave-safe 2-cup liquid measuring cup, heat creams in microwave on Medium (50% power) 5 minutes. Remove from microwave; stir in vanilla.
Meanwhile, in 4-cup liquid measuring cup (to make pouring easier later) or bowl, whisk egg yolks and granulated sugar until well blended. Slowly whisk in warm cream until combined; with spoon, skim off foam.
Partially pull out oven rack with baking pan. Place six 4-ounce ramekins in water in pan in oven. Pour cream mixture into ramekins. (Mixture should come almost to tops of ramekins for successful broiling later.) Carefully push in rack and bake custards 30 minutes or until just set but centers jiggle slightly. Remove ramekins from water and place on wire rack; cool 30 minutes. Cover and refrigerate until custards are well chilled, at least 4 hours or overnight.
Up to 1 hour before serving, preheat broiler. Place brown sugar in coarse sieve; with spoon, press sugar through sieve to evenly cover tops of chilled custards. Place ramekins in jelly-roll pan for easier handling. With broiler rack at closest position to source of heat, broil custards 2 to 3 minutes or just until brown sugar melts. Refrigerate immediately 1 hour to cool custards and allow sugar to form a crust.
For Cappuccino Crème Brûlée: Prepare Vanilla Crème Brûlée as above in step 1. In step 2, add 4 teaspoons espresso coffee powder with vanilla to warm cream mixture. Complete recipe as in steps 3, 4, and 5.

Tips & Techniques

The traditional way to heat the cream for this luscious French dessert — in a saucepan on top of the range — is tricky. In an instant, your silky custard can overheat, becoming a curdled mess. Our method — using microwave plus oven — is a no-brainer: It removes the guesswork as well as the need for a special kitchen torch, which, let's face it, can be a bit daunting.