Crème brûlée, also known as burned cream, burnt cream, Trinity cream, or crema catalana, is a dessertconsisting of a rich custard base topped with a texturally contrasting layer of hardened caramelizedsugar. It is normally served slightly chilled; the heat from the caramelizing process tends to warm the top of the custard, while leaving the center cool. The custard base is traditionally flavored with vanilla in French cuisine or with cinnamon and lemon in Catalan cuisine, but can have other flavorings. It is sometimes garnished with fruit.
History
The earliest known recipe for crème brûlée appears in François Massialot's 1691 cookbookCuisinier royal et bourgeois. The name "burnt cream" was used in the 1702 English translation. In 1740, Massialot referred to a similar recipe as crême à l'Angloise; 'English cream'. The dish then vanished from French cookbooks until the 1980s. A version of crème brûlée was introduced at Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1879 with the college arms "impressed on top of the cream with a branding iron". Crème brûlée was uncommon in French and English cookbooks of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It became extremely popular in the 1980s, "a symbol of that decade's self-indulgence and the darling of the restaurant boom", probably popularized by Sirio Maccioni at his New York restaurant Le Cirque. He claimed to have made it "the most famous and by far the most popular dessert in restaurants from Paris to Peoria".
Technique
Crème brûlée is usually served in individual ramekins. Discs of caramel may be prepared separately and put on top just before serving, or the caramel may be formed directly on top of the custard immediately before serving. To do this, sugar is sprinkled onto the custard, then caramelized under a salamander broiler or with a butane torch. Two styles exist to make crème brûlée. The common format is to create a "hot" custard, traditionally by whisking egg yolks in a double boiler with sugar and incorporating the cream, adding vanilla once the custard is removed from the heat. Alternatively, this can be achieved by the egg yolk/sugar mixture with hot cream, then adding vanilla at the end. There also exists a "cold" method, wherein the egg yolks and sugar are whisked together until the mixture reaches ribbon stage. Then, cold heavy cream is whisked into the yolk mixture followed by vanilla. After the custard is composed, the mixture is poured into ramekins which are placed into a bain-marie. Hot/boiling water is poured into the pan holding the ramekins until it reaches halfway up the sides; the pan is then placed into an oven until the custard center is semi-soft and the edges set. Removing the crème brûlée at this point ensures a creamy dessert.
Crema catalana
In Catalan cuisine, crema catalana or crema cremada, is a dish "virtually identical" to crème brûlée. The first known recipe for crema catalana appears in the Catalan cookbooks Llibre de Sent Soví and Llibre del Coch, three centuries before the French came up with crème brûlée. The recipe included a custard cream, over which sugar was poured and subsequently burnt with a hot iron rod, creating the characteristic burnt crust. Some differences include the cooking method and subsequent consistency; the French give aroma with cream and vanilla, while the Catalan do so with milk, cinnamon and lemon zest. Analogous recipes appear in 17th century Spanish cookery books, usually under the name of Cream of Saint Joseph, since it was a traditional dessert served during Saint Joseph's Day, although nowadays it is consumed throughout the year. The burnt sugar topping is documented in 1770. The recipe was referred to as crema catalanafor the first time by the Spanish friar Juan de Altamiras in his 1745 cookbook, where the recipe was said to be of Catalan origin. However, there are claims that Juan de Altamiras got his recipe during his stay in the Portuguese city ofMonsaraz, Alentejo in his youth.
