Oh I totally forgot! I made crème brulée at home during the holidays.

My dad’s been going through a crème brulée phase; Costco sells these 6-packs where you pour individual packets of granulated caramel over a custard in single-use glass dishes. My parents, being frugal Asian parents, have been saving the glass dishes to use as general decorative small bowls.

I figured I could make crème brulée in those same dishes using the toaster oven, so that’s what I did. We had guests over so I didn’t get a chance to grab my camera. They looked unappetizing anyway.

Crème Brulée

• In a saucepan, heat 2 cups heavy cream and 1/8 tsp salt (and 1 vanilla bean halved and scraped) until just bubbling at sides. (instead of bean, add 1 tsp vanilla extract now). Let infuse and cool for about 10 minutes. (Remove bean.)
• Beat 5 egg yolks and 3/8 cup sugar. Pour cream in, slowly to prevent scrambling. Pour into 4 6-oz ramekins (or 5 5-oz dishes) as full as possible.
• Place ramekins in a baking dish and pour around boiling water until halfway up ramekins. Bake at 325 F for 30-45 minutes, until top has just set.
• Refrigerate covered for 2 hours or overnight.
• Top each custard with a thin and uniform layer of white sugar, about 1 tsp each. Place just under broiler for about 5-8 minutes, rotating as necessary to attempt an even melting and browning.
• Ideally, cool for 10-120 minutes before serving.