Crème Brûlée #JuliaChild

Cynthia of Feeding Big invited us to post some Julia Child-inspired recipes in honor of what would have been Julia's 105th birthday. Julia Child was an American chef, cookbook author, and television personality who is lauded for bringing French cuisine to the American public with her cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and her television programs, including The French Chef, which premiered in 1963.

While I do remember watching her on PBS as a child, many might have only become familiar with her while watching the 2009 movie Julie & Julia. I was tickled to see so many different Child-inspired recipes today. Happy birthday, Julia!

The French Feast

• Cauliflower Gratin by A Day In The Life on The Farm
• Cherry Clafouti by The Freshman Cook 
• Coq Au Vin by Monica's Table 
• Crème Brûlée by Culinary Adventures with Camilla 
• Homemade Puff Pastry by Amy's Cooking Adventure 
• Julia Child's Roast Chicken by Feeding Big 
• Petits Pains by Karen's Kitchen Stories 
• Roast Chicken with Lemon and Herbs a la Julia by Family Around The Table 

Crème Brûlée

I started with Julia's basic Crème Brûlée recipe and added some puréed roasted apple.

Ingredients

• 1/3 C organic granulated sugar
•  6 egg yolks
• 2 C organic heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 t ground ginger
• 1/2 t ground cinnamon
• 1/4 t freshly ground nutmeg
• 1 T zest from 1 organic orange
• 1 t vanilla  paste
• 1 T olive oil
• 1/4 C water
• 1 t sea salt
• 3/4 C roasted apple purée (I used 4 Granny Smith apples and had a little bit of leftover)
• 4 to 6 ramekins or small, oven-proof mugs
• 3 T organic granulated sugar
• Also needed: blender or food processor, culinary torch

Procedure

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Slice apples in half, core and peel. Coat apples with olive oil and place them in a roasting pan. Season with salt and pour water in the pan. Roast until soft, approximately 1 hour. Remove from the oven and bring apples to room temperature. Place apples into blender or food processor and blend until puréed. Measure 3/4 of a cup for recipe. Use the rest for another dish.

Cream the egg yolks and 1/3 C sugar until pale yellow and thickened. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine heavy whipping cream, orange zest and spices in a saucepan and heat on medium, until bubbles begin to form along the edge of the pan, just before it begins to simmer. Remove from heat and whisk in the vanilla paste and apple puree. Then whisk in the egg yolk mixture, whisking until smooth. 

Pour the mixture through a fine mesh strainer, if desired. Portion evenly into ramekins.

Bake in a 350 degree F oven until no liquid appears when you jiggle the jars, approximately 40 minutes. 

Remove from oven and allow to cool.

When you're ready to torch them, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of sugar on top of each custard. 

Using a small butane torch, hover a flame over the sugar, moving it around until the sugar caramelizes.

My Precise Kitchen Elf is always the first to offer to help when the torch is involved!

As you can tell, we loved this dessert. Can't wait to try it again soon. Maybe with pumpkin in a month or so!