Breaking through the burnt sugar crust on a crème brûlée has to be one of most satisfying food moments of all time. Now, imagine under that sweet, crunchy exterior is a complex and sweet custard – made with cheese.
La Tur is a favorite of the Aperitivo staff and a great cheese to serve on a board or use in your kitchen (see Cauliflower Mac and La Tur.) It is a cow, sheep and goat’s milk cheese from Piedmont, Italy and packs a sweet, earthy creaminess in its cute little package.
A few cheeses in the Aperitivo case are sold in their own little ceramic dishes – Le Secret and St. Albans. Once you are done devouring the cheese, the dishes are great to keep in your kitchen, and make perfect crème brûlée dishes!
You can also find different sizes of shallow terra cotta dishes on the Aperitivo shelves. Using these shallow dishes is more similar to Spain’s Catalan cream, and allows for a higher crust to custard ratio. Which, isn’t that why we are here in the first place?
If you are using regular 4 oz. ramekins, you will need to increase the cooking time to 30-40 minutes, since the custard is deeper in the dishes.*
Using a kitchen torch is one way – and the most fun way – to achieve the burnt sugar crust on top of the custards. But if you don’t own one, using the broiler setting in the oven can accomplish the same effect.
La Tur Crème Brûlée
- 5 egg yolks
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 piece La Tur, set out at room temperature for 30 minutes
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 quart hot water, for water bath
- 8 teaspoons granulated sugar, for the brûléed crust
Preheat the oven to 325°F.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until the mixture is well blended and begins to turns a pale yellow.
In a small saucepan, gently heat the cream and vanilla over medium heat until it is very hot, but not quite boiling. Gently scrape off the top rind of the La Tur to expose the creamy interior. Take the cream off the heat and spoon out half of the La Tur and fold in. Once the cheese is melted and the mixture is homogeneous, add in the rest of the cheese and stir until smooth.
Slowly add the cream to the egg and sugar mixture, a little at a time, while stirring constantly.** Once the mixture is smooth, evenly divide amongst shallow ramekins.
Place ramekins in a roasting pan or glass baking dish and place in the oven. Pour enough hot water to come halfway up the ramekins and bake the custards for 20 minutes. They should be set, but still gently tremble in the middle.
Carefully remove the ramekins from roasting pan and let cool on a kitchen towel for at least 30 minutes. Transfer to the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, or up to 24 hours to continue to cool (cover with plastic if cooling overnight.)
When ready to serve, sprinkle the additional sugar over the custard to evenly cover. Using a blow torch, melt the sugar to form the crust. If using the oven, place custards on a sheet pan and set to broil for 3-5 minutes.
Let sit for 5 minutes before serving, if you can stand it.
*This recipe makes around 16 oz. of custard, so plan accordingly for whatever size of ramekin you are using. Just try and fill them evenly so they will cook at the same rate.
**If you have a buddy in the kitchen, have one person whisk and one person stream in the warmed cream. If you are tackling this dessert solo, wrap a kitchen towel around the bowl to hold it in place as you simultaneously pour and whisk.
