When Life Gives You Blueberries, Make Creme Brulee (Recipe: Blueberry-Rum Creme Brulee)

Silky, creamy, luscious, caramelized…all words that describe crème brûlée.

A dessert fit for so many occasions, crème brûlée should never be revered as untouchable at home or reserved for dining out or special events. To the contrary, preparing crème brûlée is something that should (and can!) happen whenever the mood strikes. And with variations ranging from sweet, fruity, savory, chocolatey, classic and creative, producing a unique crème brûlée to suit your tastes and impress family, friends and guests is now easier than ever. Enter Crème Brûlée: a delicious cookbook by Lou Seibert Pappas. Trust me when I say it has the power to turn crème brûlée lovers into putty.

Because preparing crème brûlée is not nearly as intimidating as it may appear, I encourage cooks of all skill levels to check out Crème Brûlée for its high inspiration factor and invaluable recipes. To provide a taste of what you can expect to find, I’ve decided to make a few of the recipes from Crème Brûlée and review them here on Inn Cuisine. And for those of you wondering if crème brûlée qualifies as inn cuisine, the answer is definitely yes. Have doubts? Look here, here and here.

Secondly, while I adore Crème Brûlée, it is not a cookbook not without its faults. The most glaring omission? The recipes fail to include variations on cooking times depending on what, exactly, size ramekin or crème brûlée dish you use for baking. While ramekin and dish size variations are referred to at the beginning of the book, I personally have found actual cooking times may vary significantly depending on the depth and width of ramekin (dish) you are using. For this reason, you may find it necessary to fly by the seat of your pants and trust the doneness of your crème brûlée by defaulting to the jiggle test: When baked crème brûlée jiggles (only) ever so slightly in the center(s), they are done. Remember that fact and Crème Brûlée will become an invaluable asset in your hands.

First up, Blueberry-Rum Crème Brûlée. Ready for a taste? Let’s bake!

Blueberry-Rum Crème Brûlée

(featured on Inn Cuisine, as adapted from Crème Brûlée by Lou Seibert Pappas)

• 1 & 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries, plus an additional 1/2 cup for garnishing (if desired)
• 6 large egg yolks
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar, plus 3 tablespoons *superfine sugar for topping (*may substitute granulated)
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 & 1/2 cups heaving whipping cream
• zest of 1 lemon
• 2 tablespoons quality rum (I suggest Appleton Jamaican Rum)

Preheat oven to 275 degrees F for baking. Although not suggested in Crème Brûlée, I lightly coat each ramekin with a bit of non-stick cooking spray for easier clean-up.

Divide blueberries evenly among 6 standard-size ramekins. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk egg yolks, adding 1/3 cup granulated sugar; whisk briskly until sugar is dissolved. Gradually whisk in sour cream and heavy whipping cream, then lemon zest and rum. Place ramekins in a 13×9x2 baking dish. Divide custard mixture evenly among the ramekins. Carefully add warm water to the baking dish until water comes halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake in a preheated 275 degree F oven for 35-45 minutes, or until the center of each custard jiggles just slightly (for the custard pictured in these photos, my baking time was much closer to 1 hour due to the depth of my ramekins). Remove baking dish from oven when custards are properly baked, allowing ramekins to rest for 5-10 minutes before removing to counter or trivet to cool. Refrigerate custards for a minimum of 2 hours, or up to 1 day before topping with caramelized sugar and serving.

Before serving, add approximately 1/2 tablespoon sugar to the top of each custard cup and move ramekins to a baking sheet (a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan works nicely) for safety purposes (no one wants to burn their counter). Using a hand-held culinary torch, caramelize the sugar working in a circular, back and forth motion moving towards the center of each cup until sugar is gently caramelized (gold and lightly browned is good, charred or burnt is not). Garnish each crème brûlée with additional blueberries, or add blueberries to each serving plate and let guests add additional berries as desired.

Enjoy!

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