Have some Creme Brulee

Chocolate Creme Brulee
Makes 5 portions

Heavy Cream 16 fl oz
Sugar 3 0z
Vanilla bean 1ea or a 1/4 tsp of vanilla extract as a substitute
Egg yolks, beaten 3 ea
Chocolate melted 3oz
Brulee Sugar 2.5 oz

Method and Technique

Pre-heat your oven to 325 degrees f.
Bring the cream and half of the sugar to a boil. After it boils pull off the heat and place the vanilla bean, which has already been scraped, into the the hot cream and sugar. Allow for this mixture to steep for 15 minutes covered with plastic wrap.
While the base is steeping mix the egg yolks and remaining sugar. After the 15 minutes has passed your base should be well infused, it is at this point you should start tempering the warm cream with the egg yolk base. It is very important that you take your time with this stage. If you add too much of the warm base to the eggs your custard will look like scrambled eggs. This is certainly not a characteristic you would like to see in your finished creme brulee. With that said, be patient mixing slowly until all the cream base has incorporated smoothly with the egg yolks and sugar. Once you have a nice custard base it is time to add the chocolate.
Melt the 3 oz of chocolate either in a microwave over small increments of time or over a double boiler. Personally I use a pot of slow simmering water with a metal bowl on top of it stirring my chocolate with a rubber spat until melted. Do whatever makes you comfortable.
Once the chocolate has melted place it into a large bowl and start mixing a third of the custard base into it at a time. Strain once all the base is mixed in.The end base should be smooth and well incorporated. Pour the custard into your creme brulee ramekins evenly about three-quarters full.
With the oven set at 325f, prepare a deep sheet tray with the ramekins set into it. Fill the tray with water until it reaches half way up the ramekins then place into the oven and bake for approximately 20-25 minutes or until the custard has set. You can test this by simply shaking the ramekin lightly. If it is set the custard with have no ripples. At this point you can pull it out and cool.

When the custard has cooled it is time to create the delicious sugary crust that we all love about the beloved creme brulee.


Take some granulated sugar and dust the tops of your ramekins with it. Once you have covered the tops pull out your blow torch! ....there really cant be many times in life that you can say that and be serious about it. I love it.



With the torch in hand light it up and quickly run the flame over the sugar melting it with out burning. Let stand for a moment then serve. Enjoy!