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This was a Menu of the Month feature in Cooking Light. I've reworked the instructions and added snide comments of my own.
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup evaporated fat-free milk
- 1 Tbsp grated Meyer lemon rind
- 1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3 large egg yolks
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 Tbsp sugar
Not Healthy, but So What?
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 325 degrees. Place four
2/3-cup souffle dishes or 3/4-cup custard cups (ramekins) in a large roasting pan and set aside.
Combine milk, evaporated milk, lemon rind, and rosemary in a saucepan. Cook on medium heat until the mixture reaches 180 degrees on a candy thermometer, or until it just begins to bubble at the edges. You don't want it to boil. Remove from heat, cover with tinfoil and let it sit for 10 minutes.
In a medium bowl, combine 1/2 cup sugar, the eggs and egg yolks, and whisk together thoroughly. Pour the milk mixture through a strainer into the eggs, whisking well and pouring slowly. (Toss the rind and rosemary leaves.) Add vanilla. Make sure the rind and rosemary is out of the pan, and return the mixture to the saucepan. Cook over medium-low head for 5 minutes, or until mixture thickens and coats a spoon. Stir constantly, scraping the bottom, to avoid lumps.
Divide the mixture evenly among your four ramekins. Pour water into the baking dish in which the ramekins are sitting until the water reaches up to the level of the custard, or until it's at the top of the baking dish.
Bake for 30 minutes, or until the center of the custards barely moves when you touch the side of the custard cup. Remove from pan, and cool completely on a wire rack. Cover and chill overnight.
It Was Crunchy
Sprinkle 2 Tbls sugar evenly over the custard cups. With a kitchen blowtorch about 2 inches from the tops of the custards, melt the sugar until it's completely caramelized and bubbly. Serve immediately.
6 Weight Watchers points per cup (261 calories, 7.9g fat) as prepared above.
Notes and Hints and Stuff
- Don't Scramble Your Eggs
When you're combining the hot mixture with the egg yolks, be patient. Go slowly or you'll scramble the eggs and have to start over. I've done this.
- I Don't Have Until Tomorrow
Cheat. Put the baked brulees in the freezer for half an hour to an hour. It makes them cold without freezing them.
- Don't Burn Yourself
Not surprisingly, after you blowtorch the sugar, the tops of the ramekins will be scorchingly hot. Be careful.
- Alterations
You can use turbinado (raw) sugar for the caramelization step. I like it better that way.
If you don't want to use the fat-free evaporated milk, you can use regular evaporated milk and it works fine but adds calories.
If you can't find Meyer lemons, use regular lemon rind. It still works, just has a slightly different flavor.
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