no bake?? NO BAKE??

well after being the ambitious cooktrying to conquer the crème brûlée i wandered into Williams-Sonoma tonight (love that store, i think unmarried people should have a registry anyways and not have to get married to get presents from their wishlist!!!)

in any case i was shopping for risotto rice (i ended up ruining my risotto because i didn't realize i had no wine at home so i just used more chicken stock and now it's overly salty and i'm trying to save it by adding in frozen peas and going to caramelized some dice onions tomorrow to mix it in, but i digress)

in any case, loved looking at everything, then i picked up what looked like a soy milk off the rack sort of packaging... it claims to be acrème brûlée mix; which is not uncommon. but the instructions on the bcak facinated me - no bake? WHAT??? after slaving and forcing myself to be precise and meticulous with my baking, i found out that there is a known alternative to the traditional way of making this lovely dessert - in fact, the non-baking version seem to be more creamy and velvety smooth!!!!

grrrrrr

really i wanted ot shell out the 9$ for this miraculous mix that promises me a carpool-lane-shortcut that skips a tedious step for this impatient girl. however, i thought, getting home so late and still cooking risotto from scratch was ambitious enough; and that it would be delusional for me to have the energy to attempt to make a dessert as well.

ok so i sit here after i'm done cooking, with the barely edible (but potentially savable) pot of risotto, and i can't get the crème brûlée out of my head. a bit of Googling revealed that the 9$ would have been overpriced since i had all the fresh ingredients at home and could make the no-bake version perfectly fine on my own.

so tomorrow i will attempt this amazing featof no-bake crème brûlée. in the meantime i am sharing the recipe because i think this is very me - the shortest possible path to make something that is classic. elegant,  tasty and presentable to the public, if need be. (think Rice Krispy Squares commercial where the mom chills in the kitchen and last minute sprinkle herself with flour to pretned hard work when delivering the treats to her kids)

No Bake Creme Brulee

All the cooking for this version is done on the cooktop.
Servings: 6

I N G R E D I E N T S
3 cups heavy cream
2 vanilla beans
8 egg yolks
1/2 cup white granulated sugar
1 tablespoon white granulated sugar (for top)


I N S T R U C T I O N S

Split each vanilla bean lengthwise. Place cream in a medium heavy-bottomed pan, scrape vanilla bean seeds into the cream (use a sharp-tipped knife) then add the beans and heat until bubbles begin to form at edges of the pan. Remove from heat and let stand 30 minutes to infuse the cream with the vanilla flavor.

Beat egg yolks with sugar until pale and thick. Strain cream and vanilla with a fine sieve and pour into egg yolk mixture. Cook, without boiling, over low heat until mixture thickens and coats the back of a metal spoon. Remove from heat and divide evenly among 6 large ramekins or custard cups. Cover and refrigerate 3 hours, until set.

Prior to serving, sprinkle remaining sugar evenly over custards and brown with a kitchen torch or under the oven broiler. Refrigerate until serving.