Brain farts. We've all experienced them. Sometimes they're harmless little lapses in judgment, like forgetting to pick up milk at the grocery store. Other times they can have a little more impact that completely throws off your day, like forgetting your cell phone at home. Then, there are the big ones, like the one I had last week. It was so bad it stank up my office for two days. Yes, believe it or not, I'm still talking about brain farts, not the other kind.
I started off a normal day at work, making my usual daily microwave oatmeal breakfast, which I've been doing for the last three years. Meanwhile, I was chatting with my co-worker, who happened to be starting her toast in the toaster oven. Suddenly, we noticed a subtle toasted scent in the air, but figured it was just some harmless crumbs being singed at the bottom of the toaster oven. Nothing to worry about. The microwave chimed, and as I opened the door, a gray plume of smoke rushed toward me, and slowly floated up to the ceiling and drifted out into the hallway.......oops. As I watched the smoke travel out of the kitchen, it took me a second to realize what went wrong with my 2-minute oatmeal. I'm sure you already guessed it. Yes, I forgot to add the water to my oatmeal. That's right. Huge brain fart. The grains had burned to a blackened crisp and the smoke coated the inside of the microwave in a yellow tinge. But, the worst part was the smell. It was almost exactly like the smell of burnt popcorn, but way more concentrated and way more burnt. It slowly permeated the entire hallway, despite our efforts to disperse the smoke by blasting our fans to direct it towards the exits. Needless to say, we were still crinkling our noses from the smell two days later.
My oatmeal breakfast wasn't the first thing I burned in the last month. It was the second one. Yup, the second. The first thing I burned was the caramel for this dessert, although MAC and I still ate all 6 servings ourselves. We can't help ourselves sometimes. Plus, burnt or not, this stuff is darn delicious either way.
Anyway, my burnt caramel wasn't due to a brain fart, but rather my lack of caramel cooking skills. I have never made my own caramel before this, and I found that it's not necessarily difficult, but rather tricky. The trick is the level of heat that you use. If you're working with very high heat, your caramel will go from a beautiful amber to a burnt dark brown in a split second, literally. Believe me, I'm speaking from experience. So, be patient and work with a medium-high heat. It'll take some time, but you'll have more control over the color of your caramel and you'll end up with a beautiful golden amber. So there. I was nice enough to tell you the trick. You'll be thanking me after taking one bite of this luscious dessert........unless a brain fart makes you forget.
Crème Caramel
from Gratinee
Serves 4 - 6
Ingredients:
1 vanilla bean or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups milk
2/3 cup sugar (for the caramel) plus 1/2 cup sugar (for the custard)
1/3 cup water
3 eggs
3 egg yolks
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Start by steeping the vanilla bean in the milk. Slice the pod in half vertically and scrape the seeds out. Add the seeds, along with the pod, to the milk in a medium saucepan. Turn up the heat, whisk a little (helps break up the seeds) and when you see bubbles around the rim, turn off the heat and allow the milk to steep while you complete the rest of the steps.
3. Make the caramel. Set four to six ramekins on the counter. In a small saucepan, add 2/3 cup sugar and water together and bring up the heat to medium/high. Don't stir, but rotate the pan around to help the sugar dissolve. As it cooks, the color will eventually start to change. This can take anywhere between 8-10 minutes. Remember, the higher the heat, the faster the color will change. Watch it carefully. When it turns a very golden amber, pour it directly into the ramekins. Carefully swirl the ramekins around to coat the bottom evenly. Set the sauce pan aside; you can clean it later by adding water and bringing it to a boil and whisking. The caramel will dissolve easily.
4. Make the custard. In a medium bowl, beat the remaining 1/2 cup sugar into the eggs and egg yolks until light and foamy. Remove the vanilla pod from the warm milk mixture, then gradually add the milk to the egg mixture while whisking. Strain it into a separate bowl.
5. Pour the strained custard directly over the caramel in the ramekins. Place the ramekins in a large roasting pan or baking dish. Fill the pan with boiling water halfway up the sides of the ramekins, then place the pan into the oven.
6. Bake for 5 minutes, then turn the temperature down to 325 and bake for 40 minutes or until the center of the custard is no longer wobbly. Remove the pan from the oven, take the ramekins out and allow them to come to room temperature. Cover the ramekins with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.
7. To serve, run a knife around the edge of the ramekin, put a plate on top and flip the ramekin over. Pat the bottom of the ramekin a few times to help the custard release, then lift.
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