Creme Brulee – two ways
It’s a well known fact. Hubby’s favorite dessert is Creme Brulee. Any time we go to a restaurant that has it, he orders it. And he’s not much of a dessert guy (if you can believe that). Since I’ve never made creme brulee, and I have a creme brulee kit, AND it’s hubby’s favorite, I had to put it on my list of things to do before my next birthday. I was especially encouraged when I saw all the TWD-ers make creme brulee a couple months ago.
Since all we had in the house was cream and not milk, I needed a recipe that used all cream. Luckily the recipe that came in my kit only used cream. It is not a very fussy recipe at all and makes the perfect amount for the 4 ramekins that came in the kit.
Of course, creme brulee is NOT lactose intolerant friendly. So I decided to use some evaporated goat’s milk in half of the batch. I randomly came across this evaporated goat’s milk at Target one afternoon. I grabbed 3 cans. It says on the can that can be substituted 1:1 for heavy cream. (In case you didn’t know, most people who are lactose intolerant, like me, can digest goat milk and sheep milk but not cow milk. Luckily all that stuff is easy to find here in Boston.)
So I made a half batch of the creme brulee for each of us. So we each got 2 ramekins. I didn’t go crazy with flavors, although I did steep a 1/2 vanilla bean in my batch. This helped me to identify which ones were safe for me to eat because of the specks (and I LOVE vanilla).
Hubby was very excited to learn I had made creme brulee for him. We went to torch up the sugar and realized that the creme brulee torch did not come with butane. DANGIT! So we tried the broiler method and it worked okay but not great – hence the burnt sugar shown in the picture…
Creme Brulee – from butane torch manufacturer – makes 4x 4oz ramekins
1 cup heavy cream – I used evaporated goat milk for my batch
2 Tbsp plus additional 1/3 cup sugar
2 extra large or jumbo egg yolks – ok, I read the recipe wrong and used whole eggs instead of just the yolks
1/2 tsp vanilla extract – for my half, I steeped a vanilla bean in the milk
Preheat oven to 300. Prepare some boiling water.
In a saucepan over medium heat, combine cream and 2 Tbs sugar; cook, stirring occasionally until small bubbles appear around the edges of pan, 5-6 minutes. Set aside.
In a bowl, beat egg yolks and vanilla until smooth and light. Pour hot cream mixture into egg yolks, a little at a time, beating continuously until well blended. Strain mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl. Divide mixture among 4 ramekins.
Arrange ramekins in a baking pan and place on the middle shelf of preheated oven. Fill pan with boiling water to halfway up sides of ramekins. Cover pan loosely with foil (I didn’t do this_. Bake until custard is just set, about 25 minutes. Chill 2-3 hours.
Sprinkle with remaining sugar evenly over top of cooled custards. With the kitchen torch, move the flame continuously over the surface of the ramekins, in a circular motion until sugar melts and becomes golden brown and bubble. Serve immediately or refrigerate for later use.
And the best part of this adventure is that I get to check another thing off my list. Go ME!
1 Order Denver trip plane tix by 12/31
2 Order Europe trip plane tix
3 Start kitchen remodel
4 Make creme brulee
5 Work out 3x/wk for 6 wks (one / two / three / four / five / six)
6 Eat no french fries for a month (and I LOVE french fries)
7 Read my D40 manual, and start applying what I’m learning from it – started
8 Finish the major craft project I started 2 years ago
9 Go to a dr about my wrist
10 Send baked goods to family/friends (one / two / three) – started
11 Read 1 book/month (Jan / Feb / Mar / Apr / May / June) – started
12 Learn to ski
13 Plan/Host a girls night (in or out)
13.5 Send at least 5 birthday cards (one / two / three / four / five) – started
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
I’m guessing you’ve tried Manchego? It’s my favorite sheep’s milk cheese.
I’m lactose intolerant too, and cheese is what I miss most. I’m curious about the goat cheese and sheep’s milk cheese; according to what I’ve read, goats’ milk and sheep’s milk have almost the same amount of lactose as cows’ milk. How is it that the cheese doesn’t have lactose? I’d be interested in any resources you could pass on because I’d love to be able to eat some cheese again!
I’m lactose-tolerant, but according to a Good Eats episode on cheese, most of the lactose is removed during the cheese making process, so that’s why most lactose-intolerant people can eat it. My g/f is Asian and very lactose-intolerant, but she can eat cheese with no problem. Ice cream (which she will eat when she gets the craving) does her no good at all, but cheese is usually fine.
That’s interesting. I know lactose intolerance is different for each person. Unfortunately for me, eating cheese (and ice cream) is like a death-wish, but I have read that cheese that’s made traditionally, aged 2 yrs., has nearly no lactose in it. That’s hard to find though. I haven’t heard that goat cheese and sheep cheese have less lactose. But perhaps most goat and sheep cheese are aged?
I actually have the GE episode on my TiVo (Cheese: Good Milk Gone Bad) and he says that cheeses that have a little age on them have had their lactose consumed by the bacteria so there’s little if any lactose left. I just replayed that portion for the exactish quote.
I think goat/sheep cheese is similar to cow in that it can be fresh or aged. I think Manchego has fresh and aged varieties. If you have a good cheese source nearby, you should be able to find well-aged (2+ years) varieties of cheddar at the very least. A Canadian, English, Irish, or Austrailian. All are very good.
I truly feel sorry for you, as I love a nice extra sharp cheddar, Parma Reggiano, etc.
And really, it’s not my intention to torture you. 🙂
Thanks for looking that up for me! I’ll have to test the waters the next time I’m feeling brave…:) I would LOVE it if I could eat some cheese again!
The only reason I eat goat and sheep milk cheese is because when my doctor told me I was LI, she said I could eat those. So that’s what I’ve been doing. I am very sensative to all cow dairy, but haven’t ever had problems with the goat or sheep cheese…
I haven’t tried Machego… I’ll have to look for it.
I first had Manchego at a tapas place near Phoenix on a cheese and fruit plate. I had no idea what I was missing. 🙂
oh my gosh! a fellow cheese junkie! haha
So I’ve been lactose intolerant since I went away to college… but I still enjoy most of my favorites. Lactaid works wonders!!! I carry the pills around with me all the time and enjoy most of the foods I love. Regarding the different milks, goats milk does indeed have lactose, it is just less than traditional cows milk so more people can tolerate it. I’m sure different processes in which you make cheese, etc could effect it, and everyone’s sensitivity is different as well. I adjusted quickly to Lactaid milk, and they have cottage cheese, ice cream (but i stick to the good ol’ stuff), and some other products I have yet to try. I urge fellow LI folks not to give up your (and my!!) favorite foods!!!
I found this website of sheeps cheese and it appears it is good for people with LI.
http://www.sheepscheese.com/
Yep! Sheep cheese is my friend for sure.
I am severely lactose intolerant but love food and cooking, so this has been a difficult adjustment for me as well. Parmigiana Reggiano is lactose free as well as; Grana Padano, all Finlandia cheeses including Muenster and Lappi. I use Lappi as a substitute for Mozzarella as it has similar texture and flavour. Muenster has worked well as a substitute for many cheeses as it has great flavour. There are some cheeses that I cannot tolerate such as mozzarella. Goat cheese does have lactose, but also has a protein in it that is different from that in cow’s milk. This makes it much more easily digestible and is great for those with lactose intolerance. Hope this is helpful! p.s. – I make my own ice cream by making creme anglaise with lactose free 2% milk.