Crème brûlée is a very popular dessert that you will find in almost every fine dining restaurant.
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The smooth creamy custard contrasts very nicely with the crunch of the hardened sugar topping. A delightful dessert that will impress your guests, crème brûlée is actually quite simple to make. This particular recipe uses dark chocolate but you can also substitute bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate.
INGREDIENTS:
* 2 cups heavy cream
* 2 cups half and half
* 8 ounces dark chocolate, chopped fine
* 8 large egg yolks
* 1/3 cup sugar plus more for sprinkling
* 1 large banana, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
PREPARATION:
Preheat oven to 300°F. In a large pot, heat cream and half and half until they just begin to bubble. Reduce heat to low. Add chocolate and whisk until melted and smooth. Remove from heat. Whisk yolks and 1/3 cup sugar in large bowl and blend well. Egg yolks will turn light yellow. Gradually whisk in hot chocolate mixture. Strain (optional).
Divide custard among eight 6-ounce ramekins or custard cups. Place cups in large baking pan. Add enough hot water to pan to come halfway up sides of cups. Bake until custards are just set (about 45 minutes). Custard will be mostly solid but still jiggle a bit in the center. Remove from water and refrigerate overnight.
When ready to serve, preheat broiler. Place banana slices on top of crème brûlées in a single layer. Sprinkle the top of each dish with 1 tablespoon sugar. Broil until sugar turns golden (about 3 minutes). Watch very closely while broiling to avoid burning the sugar. Alternatively, you can brown the sugar with a handheld propane or butane torch.
