Creme Brulee again

Thursday, March 19, 2009

I made creme brulee for the first time a few months ago. Hubby loved it. I hate using water baths and I wanted to try Dorie’s recipe. We both agreed that we like this recipe much better than the other one. And it’s so nice not having to use a water bath! This treat really is too easy to make. It’s dangerous. Especially when I have leftover egg yolks from making Swiss meringue buttercream… Next, I’d like to experiment with some different flavors of creme brulee.

I converted Dorie’s recipe (seen here from when the TWD group did it) to make 4 servings instead of 6. Here are the measurements I used:
13 Tbsp + 1 tsp heavy cream
1/3 cup whole milk
2 egg yolks
3 1/2 Tbsp sugar
1 1/3 tsp vanilla
4 Tbsp sugar for topping

The link above is broken, so here is the recipe from Dorie:
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup whole milk
3 large egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract

About 6 tbsp sugar or sifted light brown sugar for topping

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 200F. Put the baking dishes on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat.
Bring the cream and milk just to a boil.
In a 1-2 quart glass measuring cup or in a medium bowl, whisk th egg yolks, sugar and vanilla together until well blended but not airy. Still whisking, drizzle in about one quarter or the hot liquid – this will temper, or warm, the yolks so they won’t curdle. Whisking all the while, slowly pour in the remainder of the cream and milk. Give the bowl a good rap against the counter to de-bubble the custard, then strain it into the baking dishes.

Bake the custards for 50-60 minutes, or until the custards are set – tap the sides of the dishes, and the custards should hold firm. Lift the dishes onto a cooling rack and let the custards cool until they reach room temperature.

Cover each custard with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, preferably longer. (The custards can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.) For the sugar to be successfully caramelized, the custards need to be thoroughly chilled.

To caramelize the sugar topping with a blowtorch, work on one dish at a time. Sprinkle the top of each custard evenly with sugar – about 1 tablespoon for each dish – then brown the sugar, cooking until it bubbles and colors. Wait until the bubbles subside before serving the crèmes.

To caramelize the sugar in a broiler, preaheat the broiler and fill a shallow roasting pan with the ice cubes. Sprinkle the custards with the sugar, put the baking dishes on the bed of ice and run the custards under the broiler. Don’t move away from your oven – depending on your broiler, it can take seconds or minutes to caramelize the sugar, and you don’t want to miss the moment and ruin the topping. When the sugar bubbles and browns, pull the custards out, remove them from their ice bed and let them settle down before serving.

Dessert, Family Favorites, Other

1 comment »

22 Responses to “Carrot Cake and Cheesecake Cake”

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Lauren @ Healthy Food For Living — April 13, 2011 at 4:45 pm

Give me a moment to compose myself… ok. This is the cake that my dreams are made of! Carrot cake and cheesecake are my two favorite cakes, so combine them into one amazing dessert, and I’m in total bliss. It looks phenomenal, and I would dominate a big slice ;).
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lms — July 13, 2011 at 4:16 pm

This cake was phenomenal!!!!! I have now made 3 versions and I think the carrot was the best. Everyone raved over it and we all thought it was better the 2nd day! YUM is an understatement!
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Matt — January 27, 2013 at 3:49 pm
I’m confused, how did the become a red velvet cake during the assembly?
- beantownbaker — January 27th, 2013 @ 4:07 pm
  
  That was a typo in the recipe since this was based on the red velvet cheesecake cake that I had made. I fixed it. Hope that helps.
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Chewy — March 29, 2013 at 11:19 am
Do i have to put the cheesecake pan in a roaster with water? I dont have a roaster? Before I purchase one I thought Id ask. Ive made many cheesecakes in the past and never did this

Thanks
- beantownbaker — April 1st, 2013 @ 8:35 am
  
  Yes, you are using a water bath to bake the cheesecake. So the water should come up about half way on the side of the pan that the cheesecake is in. I usually use a disposable roasting pan since I don’t have a roaster either. Hope that helps.
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Sarah Ross — March 31, 2013 at 3:45 pm
Just made this for Easter and everyone loved it.. Thank you
- beantownbaker — April 1st, 2013 @ 8:36 am
  
  Glad it was a success for you. This is a great Easter cake.
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Brandi — March 31, 2013 at 5:10 pm
I made this for Easter today as well, and it was great, everyone said so. I couldn’t eat much, it’s SO thick and rich. I don’t think it would have been half as great without the cheesecake. LOVE that and what a super easy recipe for the cheesecake.

The cake was quite a bit more work than I am used to, and I had to change a few things up based on what I had, in cae this helps anyone else…

I didn’t have brown sugar, subbed coconut palm sugar.

I used toasted almonds instead of pecans and was pleasantly surprised that I actually like them when toasted, as I don’t normally like them at all, they were so light and crispy.

I do not have a stand mixer, I used my Ninja blender with the whipping cream attachement (I didn’t know that it would work but it worked just fine!)

My food processor is broke and couldn’t find my grater, so I used my blender for the carrots, worked just fine.

I skipped the parchment paper bc I was out and that was no biggie.

The cake looked picture perfect and tasted amazing, no complaints here. Thank you!!!
- beantownbaker — April 1st, 2013 @ 8:37 am
  
  So glad this worked out for you. Thanks for coming back and posting the changes you made. I am sure they will be helpful for other readers.
  
  Toasted almonds are one of my favorite nuts! What a great substitution.
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Joann — July 21, 2013 at 3:49 pm
How many people will this feed? It is a combo of my two favorite things so I want to make it for a Bunco group.
- beantownbaker — July 21st, 2013 @ 3:51 pm
  
  It will easily serve 12-16
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Amy — October 13, 2013 at 12:23 pm
I made this for my mom’s 60th birthday and everyone loved it. My dad announced that it was his favorite cake ever, so…I’m about to go buy the ingredients to make it again for HIS 60th next week 🙂 Thanks!
- beantownbaker — October 15th, 2013 @ 5:02 pm
  
  Wow! Now that’s a compliment! So glad everyone enjoyed it 🙂
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Sarah — December 10, 2013 at 11:33 am
Hey there!

Wonderful recipe 🙂 just curious, when you assembled the cake, is the top layer bottom side up, or right side up? Did you trim the rounded top off?

Thanks!
- beantownbaker — December 10th, 2013 @ 4:56 pm
  
  If I remember correctly, my layers came out pretty flat. If they were round, I would trim the top off. I always put the top layer upside down when I’m stacking a layer cake.
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Robin — April 24, 2014 at 9:19 pm
Made this for Easter, for my husband’s side of the family. Perfect cake recipe! Takes time to make, but nothing difficult. Turned out beautifully and tasted wonderful. I didn’t tell anyone about the cheesecake layer, so when I cut the first piece everyone was just thrilled to see that middle layer. The cake is a feast for both the eyes and the palate. It also travels well, which is a bonus for a 3-layer cake. I will make this cake again, and again, and again. Thanks!!!
- beantownbaker — April 27th, 2014 @ 2:46 pm
  
  So glad you enjoyed it!!
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Anndrea — January 29, 2016 at 3:08 am

Just tried to make this… and I am curious if other people who had success used the volume or weight measures??
I used the weight and was quite precise BUT the cake is now seemingly exploding in my oven.. I am thinking some of the ounces are wrong but am not sure. (I have checked the recipe about 5 times to make sure i measured correctly too…)
Quite disappointed but hopefully I can still salvage something from it.
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Margaret Jimenez — March 26, 2016 at 8:22 am

hi! I wanted to make this for Easter tmrw..but I only have 10″ pans..both for the cheesecake & cake..can u PLEASE help me w/ the adjustments? I tried googling it, but it’s just not happening & I WANT to make this recipe..it has 5 stars! THANK U, THANK U!
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Margaret Jimenez — March 26, 2016 at 8:24 am

what I left out, was, I don’t want my cakes to be thin..I LOVE/prefer a high cake 🙂
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Lani — September 22, 2016 at 6:55 pm

Hello! Will the cheesecake tend to soften and tilt or sink in if it’s in a slightly warm environment or if I make it into a 5-6″ layer cake? I’m thinking of having one cake layer at the bottom, then the cheesecake, then the rest of the 2-4 layers cake layers. I am wondering if the cake will hold (with the cheesecake layer) if I put a center dowel?