Creme Brulee

Once I tried this recipe, I had forgotten how much I loved creme brulee.  I was expecting this recipe to be difficult, but Pioneer Woman makes anything seem like a piece of cake.  I was hosting an Oscar party this year so I really wanted to make a "sophisticated" dessert.  However, I have to admit that I also made this so I could try out my new creme brulee set and kitchen torch.  In the end, it was worth it!

Source:  The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients:

4 cups Heavy Cream
1 whole Vanilla Bean OR 1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract OR 1 Tablespoon Vanilla Paste
10 whole Egg Yolks
¾ cups Sugar
6 Tablespoons Superfine (Baker's) Sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Pour the cream into the saucepan. Add vanilla (whichever product you’re using) and simmer over medium-low heat.

Whip egg yolks with the sugar until pale yellow and thick.

Strain cream using a fine mesh strainer.

Whip yolks while you very slowly drizzle in 1 cup of warm cream. Go slowly so as not to cook the eggs! Once the first cup is added, you can add the rest of the cream slowly.

Place ramekins onto a rimmed baking sheet. Pour custard mixture into ramekins. Pour water in bottom of baking sheet until it comes halfway up the ramekins. Bake for 30 minutes, or until just set. Do not allow to get brown.

Cool ramekins on countertop, then chill for at least 2-3 hours, covered in plastic wrap.

To serve, sprinkle 1 tablespoon over each ramekin of custard. Use a kitchen torch to quickly (but carefully) brown the sugar. There should be a thin, crisp surface of burned sugar on the top.

Serve immediately!

Dreamy Creamy Strawberry Ice Cream

This recipe was the first time I had ever made ice cream so I was super pumped for this.  I had just purchased the ice cream maker attachment for my Kitchen Aid mixer so I was really itching to make some ice cream as soon as possible.  I'm a little strange, but I love fruit ice cream better than chocolate so I decided to try this strawberry ice cream recipe.  It calls for quite a bit of sour cream, but once I tried the finished product, I never would have known there was sour cream in it.  This was very tasty and really tasted like anything you'd buy in a carton at the grocery store.

Source:  Annie's Eats, barely adapted from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

Ingredients:

1 lb. fresh strawberries, rinsed, hulled and sliced
¾ cup sugar
1 tbsp. vodka or kirsch (optional)
1 cup sour cream
1 cup heavy cream
½ tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions:

Combine the sliced strawberries in a medium bowl with the sugar and vodka. Stir until the sugar begins to dissolve. Cover and let stand at room temperature for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a blender or food processor and add the sour cream, heavy cream and lemon juice. Pulse briefly until almost smooth but still slightly chunky. Chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.