Coffee Brulee Spoonfuls
- 2 tablespoons freshly ground coffee or crushed coffee beans
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/3 cup half-and-half
- 1/4 vanilla bean, split lengthwise, or 1/8 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 4 egg yolks
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup coarse sugar, raw sugar, or demerara sugar
- An 8 to 9-inch square baking dish, preferably not aluminum
- A hot-water bath
- 20 to 30 spoons, preferably long-handled
- A kitchen torch
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
- Heat the ground coffee, cream, half-and-half, and vanilla bean in a medium saucepan over medium heat just to a boil.
- Immediately turn off the heat.
- Set aside to infuse for 10 minutes.
- Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar in a large bowl just until combined.
- Whisking constantly, gradually pour in the hot cream mixture.
- Strain the mixture into the baking pan to smooth it and to remove the vanilla bean.
- Place the pan in a hot water bath.
- Bake in the center of the oven until set but not too firm (it will cook a little more as it cools), 40 to 50 minutes.
- Remove from the water bath and let cool 15 minutes.
- Tightly cover with plastic wrap, making sure the plastic does not touch the surface of the custard.
- (The recipe can be made up to this point and kept refrigerated up to 3 days in advance.)
- Up to 4 hours before serving, fill the spoons with the chilled cooked custard by scooping each spoon into the pan of custard.
- Round the tops with a small spatula, or a butter knife.
- Keep cold.
- Right before serving, fire up your kitchen torch.
- Top each spoonful of custard with coarse sugar by sprinkling the entire surface and placing it on a baking sheet.
- Repeat with the remaining spoons.
- Torch the spoons until the sugar is melted and well browned, about 1 minute.
- Let cool 1 minute before serving.
freshly ground coffee, heavy cream, vanilla bean, egg yolks, granulated sugar, coarse sugar, baking dish, water, spoons, a kitchen torch
Taken from www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/coffee-brulee-spoonfuls-recipe.html (may not work)