What Is Creme Brulee
?
Crème brûlée (or Crème
brulée in L'Orthographie 1990)[1] (French for "burnt
cream"; pronounced /ˌkrɛm bruːˈleɪ/ in English, IPA:
[kʁɛm bʁyˈle] in French) is a dessert consisting
of a rich custard base topped with a layer of hard
caramel, created by burning sugar under a grill, or
Crème brulee, that wonderful custard-based dessert, is
my favorite after-dinner treat. Normally flavored with vanilla, I
have ordered numerous variations in different
restaurants all over the world in my travels. I am
ashamed to say that I have never made it myself, but
that does not lessen my enjoyment of this lovely
sweet. As a child I loved custard, and I suppose this
enjoyment simply transferred itself to crème brulee in
my adulthood. I keep ordering it even thought I now
know I have a slight egg allergy. So what I do is stay
away from anything and everything that has even a bit
of egg in it, for about a week, before I order it for
dessert. It’s worth it. French for burnt cream,
crème brulee can be created by putting it under a
grill, thus hardening the the top layer of sugar to
create caramel. Many chefs use a crème brulee
torch as the heat source to harden the top sugar
layer of this dessert, which is generally served in
individual small ramekins. After being served crème
brulee flavored with coffee, coconut, espresso,
chocolate, and other added flavors, including liqueur
poured over the top and then lit, I still prefer the
original recipe. The
best crème brulee I have ever eaten was
served in a restaurant in London which I believe is
still in operation and called La Poule Au Pot or
“Chicken in the Pot”. Some English friends, who know I
enjoy good food, and especially this particular dessert,
took me to this delightful little place for dinner.
Their version of crème brulee was the usual crème
brulee, a vanilla custard with a hard caramel topping,
and it was scrumptious. I now give a gift certificate to
this eatery to any good friend who happens to be
traveling to London. The English, the Spanish and the French
all claim to be the originators of this dessert. I,
personally, do not care who was responsible for this
treat. I am just thankful to the chef who was the first
to make the custard, put the caramel on top and voila`,
or ola`, or whoopee, or whatever! Whoever you are, thank
you!
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