1 qt heavy whipping cream
1 c sugar
2 vanilla beans, -- split
12 egg yolks
: Additional sugar for
: caramelizing the top of the
: Creme B
Preheat oven to 325 degrees and set rack in the middle
level. Place a shallow 1 1/2 quart baking dish in a
larger pan, such as a roasting pan. (Or use six
individual molds.)
Combine cream, sugar and vanilla beans in a saucepan
and bring to a boil, stirring once or twice to
dissolve sugar.
Whisk the yolks in a bowl. Strain the cream mixture to
remove the vanilla beans, then whisk the hot cream
into the yolks. Skim the surface of the custard
mixture and pour it into the mold.
Bake the cream about 1 hour until set, but still very
pale on the surface. Remove the mold from the pan of
water and cool on a rack. Wrap and refrigerate several
hours or overnight.
To caramelize the top of the Creme Brulee, unwrap and
blot surface with a paper towel. Sprinkle an even
1/16-inch layer of sugar on the surface. Run mold
under preheated broiler (leave door open) or use a
blow torch to caramelize sugar. Serve as soon as sugar
hardens.
