Ingredients:

• 4 1/4 cups heavy cream
• 2 cups half and half
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped
• 13 egg yolks

Preparation:

Combine cream, half and half, sugar and vanilla bean in a heavy saucepan and slowly bring to a boil. Remove from heat and let steep for about 20 minutes.

Seperate egg yolks into a large bowl and slowly whisk the warm cream mixture into the eggs. Strain through a medium fine sieve and refrigerate until completely cool.

Pour the custard into baking ramekins (no. 1 Apilco are great and have a capacity of about four ounces) and place the ramekins in a large, flat baking pan. Fill the baking pan with very hot water until the level covers the bottom half of teh ramekin, cover the pan with foil and carfully place in a pre-heated 325-degree oven.

Baking time should be about 50 minutes, but start peeking under the foil after 35 minutes and every 5 minutes after that. Brulee is finicky!

The creme brulee is done when the top is still smooth and jiggles like a firm gelatin when the ramekin is tapped. There should be no sign of any residual liquid in the middle.

If the custard starts to look curdled, remove from the oven immediately and remove the from the water bath as soon as possible.

When you have baked the creme brulee perfectly, remove from the water bath and cool in the refrigerator for at least two hours. To burn the top, sprinkle approx. 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar as evenly as possible over the brulee and immediately caramelize with a blow torch.

Let the caramel set, garnish with fresh fruit and enjoy!

Recipe from Casey Hayden
Casey's Bakery, East Sacramento

Croker Art Museum 41st Annual Baroque Ball
Dec. 1, 2001
Information: www.crockerartmuseum.org