Espresso Toffee Creme Brulee
Hi Bakers, This dessert failed…sort of. Creme brûlée without a torch?…Not so simple! I wanted to try both sugar and toffee as the topping in case people didn’t want to make the toffee. Regular sugar didn’t caramelize under the broiler and completely heated the custard. Thankfully, the toffee bits melted quickly and were amazing. Espresso Toffee Creme Brûlée is naturally gluten-free and easy to make. The combination of toffee and custard is phenomenal and something you can’t get in a restaurant. I used milk and cream for a lighter custard, but if you want something richer, reduce the amount of milk to 1/4 cup and increase the heavy cream amount to 2 3/4 cups. Sorry, this video was a hot mess but it was a good experiment in making something I had never tried before! Enjoy ~Carolyn
Note; Ramekin size stated wrong on the video but the correct size is listed in recipe!
Espresso Toffee Creme Brulée
makes 6 ramekins 3.5” x 1.5”
2 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup whole milk
1 1/2 tablespoons instant espresso powder
5 large egg yolks
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt
Garnish
whipped cream
toffee bits
Preheat oven to 300F and place rack in the middle position. Line a 9” x13” baking pan with a small towel and place greased ramekins on top of it. Set aside. Whisk together egg yolks, sugar and vanilla in a small bowl and set aside. In a heavy saucepan, stir together cream, milk, espresso and salt. Heat and stir milk mixture until bubbling but not boiling. Slowly add a cup of hot milk mixture to the egg yolks while whisking. Pour egg yolk milk mixture through a fine mesh strainer into saucepan with remaining milk. Whisk together well. Ladle into prepared ramekins. Add 1 1/2 inches of warm water to baking pan containing ramekins being careful not to get water into them them. Carefully place pan into the oven and bake for about 40-50 minutes or until just set but still jiggling in the middle. Remove from water containing pan and let cool to room temperature. Cool overnight in the fridge or at least a few hours. Prepare toffee topping with recipe below or buy plan toffee to use as topping.
Toffee Topping
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Combine all ingredients except vanilla in a heavy saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat while stirring until mixture reaches 305F or hard crack stage. You can measure with a candy thermometer or other favorite method. I like to drop some into cold water and if it’s hard and shatters when you bite it, that’s hard crack. Remove from the heat and stir in vanilla extract. Pour onto a silicone mat or marble slab. Cool and break into chunks saving some for garnish. Chop toffee with a large knife into small pieces to cover brûlée and broil as topping.
How to broil toffee topping
Set the oven to low broil and place rack in the top position. Add chopped toffee to cover about 1 tablespoon per ramekin. Broil for a few minutes or until toffee melts but doesn’t brown. Add a sprinkle of large grain salt and serve immediately. If melting takes more than a few minutes in your oven, chill to reset the brûlée and toffee for 10 minutes. Garnish with whipped cream and chopped toffee bits right before serving. Do not broil toffee topping and leave overnight, the toffee top starts to get soft and butter that was melted gets solid and not in a good way.