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Crème brûlée with homemade vanilla sugar and meringues

Initially published on 2/10/2011

For a few weeks I've had some time to cook desserts in the afternoon, especially egg creams with vanilla taste. 

After trying our French version of custard (we call it "English cream"), I made a "crème brûlée" yesterday. I did not use any vanilla bean, imported from over the ocean, neither artificial vanilla sugar. I replaced all the sugar of the recipe by my vanilla-perfumed sugar I mentioned here, and I must say I am pretty satisfied with the taste, almost like real vanilla!

I also made meringues, not that it required a vanilla taste, but it was just a way to not waste the egg whites. The good part about it, is that both recipes cooked at the same temperature and almost at the same time (what an optimal use of energy!)

And now the recipes, in the order you should make them!

Crème brûlée (original recipe from marmiton.org)

- 3 eggyolks
- 1 dl (full-fat) milk --> I actually put 0,2 dl (see below)
- 2,5 dl liquid cream --> I had more than that, 3,3 dl (an entire carton). So I put everything and completed with milk to reach 3,5 dl
- 50g sugar --> I suppressed the artificial vanilla powder and used only my naturally flavored sugar

Separate the whites from the yolks and save the whites for later. Mix the yolks with mikl and cream and then add sugar. Mix well.

Pour this liquid into ramekins and put them in the oven, at 120° C (no need to pre heat it). I left them there for exactly 50 minutes (the original recipe recommended 30-40 mn). 

The cream is not "brûlée" (burnt) yet: you can either add sugar (preferably brown sugar) on the top just at the end of the cooking time or, as we did, wait until the last moment a put the ramekins one or two minutes just under the grill of the opened oven, at 200°C (not optimal use of energy but at least it warmed up the flat!).

Meringues

- 4 eggwhites --> I had only 3 (see crème brûlée)...
- 250 g (caster or icing) sugar -->...so I adapted the sugar and put 188 g

It is important to finish with this recipe because your whites MUST be at room temperature ; remember, you saved them outside of the fridge while beginning the crème brûlée.

You may add a pinch of salt before stiffly beating the whites. When they went stiff enough you can start adding gradually the sugar, while you keep mixing.
At this point of the recipe you are supposed to pre heat the oven; good news, you already have, with the crème brûlée inside (120° C)!

Make piles on a baking sheet covered by greaseproof paper (or reuseable silicon sheet ; did not find out where to by it yet). Put in the oven for 30 min- 1 hour (1 hour and 15 minutes for me).

Sorry I don't have any pictures to show you, but the fact they were all eaten by the evening proves it's a good recipe!

Bon appétit !
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