# My creme brulee fail - why?



## eh_yuen (May 19, 2010)

Guys please help!

I have used below receipe to make my creme brulee.
I have cook the mixture and pour into the egg yolks, up til these stage it still looks perfectly okay. Then I bake them in oven (water bath with towel and hot water) for 30 mins and take out and let it rest. When I take it out the top surface have some bubble and then side is set and middle still seems a bit jiggles when I shake it. ( from reading all the blogs this should be the way it looks as the thing will still cook itself after resting) after about 2 hours resting I pop them to the fridge for 3 hrs.
When I take it out from fridge it looks all set but when I put my spoon inside. its so grainy. feels like the eggs has seperate from the cream and there is some water inside. I follow exactly the steps below and I don't see which part I went wrong? Is it because the cream mixture was not hot enough when I pour into the eggs? 

I have made only 2 desserts in my whole life and they all fail.. My friend follow exactly this same recipe and hers turn out perfect. however she said she bake for 40 mins instead. I seroiusly need to know why and I meant to make this for my bf as a surprise gift this weekend....please kindly help !!


600ml thickened cream
1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped
6 egg yolks
¼ cup caster sugar
120g demerara sugar for the crust


*Step 1:* Preheat oven to 120°C. 
*Step 2:* Place the cream, vanilla bean and seeds in a saucepan over medium heat and bring to scalding point, then remove from heat. Remove vanilla bean and discard.

*Step 3:* Whisk together egg yolks and caster sugar in a bowl for 2-3 minutes or until pale.

*Step 4:* Pour hot cream over egg yolk mixture, continuing to whisk until well combined. Strain mixture into a jug, evenly divide between 4 x 200ml ramekins.

*Step 5:* Carefully place ramekins in a deep roasting pan lined with a folded tea towel. Pour boiling water into pan to come halfway up the sides of ramekins. Cover pan loosely with foil.

*Step 6:* Bake in the oven for 40 minutes or until the custard has just set. Remove ramekins from the water bath, and set aside to cool.

*Step 7:* Sprinkle demerara sugar evenly over the surface of the baked custards. Run a kitchen blowtorch over the custards, or place under a preheated grill until the sugar bubbles and caramelises. Serve.


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## Andy M. (May 19, 2010)

*You said:*



eh_yuen said:


> ..Then I bake them in oven (water bath with towel and hot water) for 30 mins and take out and let it rest. When I take it out the top surface have some bubble and then side is set and middle still seems a bit jiggles when I shake it....
> 
> 
> *The recipe said:*
> ...




These are not the same.  Bake the custards for 40, not 30 minutes until it is set.  It should not be liquid in the center.

Also, with a cover on the pan, moisture condenses on the under side of the foil and drips down onto the custards making them watery.  Remove the foil carefully when you take the pan out of the oven.


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## eh_yuen (May 19, 2010)

Thanks, but what cause the curdle ?


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## Andy M. (May 19, 2010)

Are you sure the temperature called for in the recipe is 120C?  It probably should be 170C-180C.


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## bad paul (Feb 27, 2012)

Okay, So now we are discussing the curse of my existence. I so want to have Creme Brulee in my restaraunt but I just can't get it. there are so many different recipes out there it boggles the mind. 
Some involve putting the egg-sugar-cream-vanilla mixture into a double boiler for 3 minutes than into the oven in a water bath for 1/2 hour. 
Others say no double boiler and oven at 325 degrees for 45 minutes. 
some say 4 egg yolks with 2 whole eggs per 1 liter cream. (I use 33% whipping cream) others say 6 egg yolks. 
I make sure the water bath is good and hot in the oven before I place the remekins in. 
Yet still, 80% of my product never sets on the inside.
The top is nice and golden brown out of the oven, the flavour wonderful. 
It just won't set. 
Now I am reading 120 degrees. 
Any ideas?
Thanks


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## bad paul (Feb 27, 2012)

Oops sorry
The oven temperature using a double boiler is 300 degrees


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## Addie (Feb 27, 2012)

There is a difference between whipping cream and heavy cream. Whipping cream has less fat than heavy cream. When a recipe calls for heavy cream, you cannot substitute whipping cream. Also whipping cream has more water in it. and most dairies "Ultra pasteurized" their whipping cream. Which means it is boiled twice. Heavy cream is pasteurized only once at a lower temperature. Whipping cream has 36% or less butter fat. Heavy cream has a minimum of 36% or above of butterfat. 

Be careful you do not boil the milk or cream. That will cause the end product to curdle. When you see tiny bubbles around the edge of the cream or milk, remove from heat immediately. You have just scalded the product. Which is what you should do for a custard product. Not boil. 

When you remove the ramekins from the oven, the center should have a very gentle giggle to it. Place a clean tea or dish towel over the ramekins. Don't use foil. It will cause condensation and drip on the custard. Let them sit until cool. The residual heat will continue to finish the cooking. Then place your sugar on top of the custards, and use a small torch to melt and brown the top. It is be hard when you gently tap the top of the custard. 

Always use a wooden spoon. and stir the milk or cream occasionally until it is scalded. Good Luck.


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## Addie (Feb 27, 2012)

To continue to help you understand custard making. the oven should never be set above 300ºF. Custards need gentle heat. They should be baked in a water bath. You should temper the eggs first. When you add the milk or cream to the egg mixture, add a little of the scalded milk or cream slowly into the eggs mixture whisking steadily. You need to increase the temperature of the eggs and get them ready for the rest of the hot liquid. Place a wet towel under the bowl with the liquid mixture. It will steady the bowl. And you need two hands. Next add the hot milk or cream into the egg mixture in a steady stream whisking steadily as you do it. Pour the mixture into a pouring container and fill the ramekins. Place in a large baking pan, place on the shelf of the oven, and pour boiling water halfway up the ramekins. 

The reason for the double boiler is for inexperienced cooks. The milk or cream will burn very quickly if the heat is too high and you do not stir it often. You need to stand right there at the stove and stir, stir, stir. Make sure you get into the edges of the saucepan. If you opt for a double boiler, it will take you twice as long to scald the milk or cream. If you opt for the saucepan method, do not put the heat too high. And I always use heavy cream. It produces a much better product. I hope all this helps.


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## bad paul (Feb 27, 2012)

Thanks Addie
The Chef's I have had over the last 8 years have always used the whipped cream? Alas, I will take your advice and obtain some heavy cream. I am sure once I figure this out it will all become straight forward. 
Thanks


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## taxlady (Feb 27, 2012)

bad paul said:


> Thanks Addie
> The Chef's I have had over the last 8 years have always used the whipped cream? Alas, I will take your advice and obtain some heavy cream. I am sure once I figure this out it will all become straight forward.
> Thanks



Your profile doesn't say where you are from. Addie posted US terminology. It might be different where you live.


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## bad paul (Feb 27, 2012)

In Revelstoke B.C.


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## bad paul (Feb 27, 2012)

We tend to swap imperial with metric around like a ball. 4 ounces with 1 litre as an example. I am pretty careful about the discrepencies. 
Thanks


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## bad paul (Feb 27, 2012)

They just don't seem to set?


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## Addie (Feb 28, 2012)

bad paul said:


> Thanks Addie
> The Chef's I have had over the last 8 years have always used the whipped cream? Alas, I will take your advice and obtain some heavy cream. I am sure once I figure this out it will all become straight forward.
> Thanks


 
As you know there is a difference in cooking and baking. Substitutions can be made in cooking. Baking is a science and if a recipe calls for heavy cream, then heavy cream it should be. Gentle heat in a Bain Marie and heavy cream. This is one time where cost should not be the rule of the day. Heavy cream costs only a few cents more. Good luck and let us know how you make out.


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## Bolas De Fraile (Feb 28, 2012)

I make a Cambridge Burnt Cream or as the French call our invention Creme Brulee , I use the MPW method 

Cambridge Burnt Cream - YouTube


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## masteraznchefjr (Mar 8, 2012)

For the Japanese version of creme brulee. They use a variety of dairy. I've used milk, half and half, heavy cream, and baileys. It will change the consistency from being like jello to a very creamy creme brulee. Try to strain your mixture through a cheesecloth or very fine sieve so you remove some gritty particles.


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## Siegal (Mar 8, 2012)

Make sure you are not cooking the egg too much before the water bath. Once I cooked it on the stovetop too long before pouring it into ramekins and it curdled when I took it out of the oven


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