BAKING PROJECT

Oh no, my Crème brûlée didn’t turn out very well.   It looked black.   Should have used just castor sugar for the top, instead of brown sugar. And I think I need to let the sugar melt and caramelised more.  The reason I’m making this dessert is to try out the mini torch I bought a few months ago.

Bought it at Pastrypro, Kepong.  The mini torch (model is Hotery CT-6000(R) )  comes with 4 ramekins, and the price is RM49.70 only.  You’ll have to buy the butane refill separately.  I think this tiny gadget is just right for homebakers like me.   Can’t seem to find other ways to make full use of this cooking torch.  It says here on the box, the cooking torch is perfect for :

• brown baked Alaska and other meringue desserts
• Melt and brown cheese on top of French onion soup
• Glaze fruit tarts and other pastry desserts
• Heat and melt cheese on top of casseroles and lasagna
• Blacken tomatoes, onions and jalapenos then blend for a delicious authentic salsa.
• I think if you are really keen to use the torch,  it can also be used to reheat the bottom of a stainless steel bowl – for defrosting buttercream etc.

Oh well, back to the Crème brûlée .  This dessert is so rich, OMG you have to try it.   And please don’t bother to count the calories.

The recipe is realy simple, you will need :

If you are using vanilla bean, scald the cream with it over medium heat.  Let it steep in the milk for about 30 minutes.   I don’t have vanilla beans, so I just added the vanilla extract into the cream and heat it.  Heat until you see small bubbles appear, about 5 minutes.  Set aside.

Preheat oven to 150 C and arrange the ramekins in the roasting tray. Prepare some boiling water.

Whisk the egg yolks and the sugar, until just blended.  Add the cream into the egg mixture, stirring continuously.

Sieve and pour the custard into the ramekins.

Pour the hot water halfway up the sides of the ramekins and bake on middle shelf,  till set for about 30 to 45 minutes.

Remove the custard from the water bath and let it cool.  Then refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Shortly before serving, sprinkle a layer of sugar on top.  With the torch, move the flame continuously over the surface in circular motion until sugar melts and become golden brown and bubbly.  Allow the sugar to set hard or enjoy immediately

p/s :  the custard is also good on its own without the melted sugar on top.  Its pure heaven.

With a few extra Ringgit in my purse, I decided to splurge on a large Wilton Cake Leveler, during a trip to Pastrypro, Kepong recently.   I think its about time that I have this very useful gadget.  All this while I have been leveling my cakes using a long knife.  Sometimes you end up with a cake with a not so smooth top.  The Wilton cake leveler cost RM82.60.  It says here that the ‘blade easily levels and tortes cakes up to 18 inch wide.  Adjusts up to 3 inch high.’  Perfect, just what I needed coz I wanted my customers to get a 3 inch high cake, and nothing less.

The thing to adjust is the feet, which can slide up or down.  Make sure the blade is lock at the same height, count the number of notches to ensure each side is equal.

I find that using the cake leveler is easy.  Place it on a flat surface, and then use a sawing motion to trim off the cake’s crown.  Be very careful, the blade is sharp.  My cake below was a 12 inch cake ( see the completed cake here).

And voila !  You get a smooth and even surface (plus, you get to eat the cut-off bits).

Time to throw away my old mini cake leveler.. it looks kinda pathetic compared to my new larger one (ungrateful me !)

I guess I’ll keep it to level smaller cakes.  It does work, but only to a certain height,  probably 2 inches.  It can still be used to divide cakes into half,  for fillings.

Till the next post, happy baking and caking .