While I was in Brookyln meeting up with some old friends from college, we got talking about food since I brought up the food blog. My one friend gave me a bit of a quiz as to the best tips for making crème brûlée. Before I could say anything, someone else chimed in with the exact same tip I was going to mention and left me with nothing because I realized…… I haven’t made crème brûlée in years! What kind of dessert blogger am I if I don’t even share a single crème brûlée with you?
So in an effort to make a dessert that is a bit romantic for Valentine’s Day, add a crème brûlée to the blog’s repotoire, and give more tips on making the perfect creme brûlée, I decided to whip up this lusciously rich blood orange crème brûlée for you.
Let me tell you about my struggles making anything blood orange related this year. I’ve been going to every store I could think of for the entire month trying to find blood oranges. Last year, you couldn’t go anywhere without bumping into a blood orange this time of year. Now, it’s like the entire state of New Jersey’s been banned from selling blood oranges!! They aren’t anywhere I go! Eventually, I used a produce delivery service to send me blood oranges. They were $1.49 PER ORANGE. What the heck. I was desperate though. They arrived the next day and…. they looked like regular oranges with just the lightest tint of red near the pith. F.M.L, ya’ll!!! The best part about blood oranges is the deep ruby red of the entire orange when you open them up.
Whatever.
If you have “bloodier” blood oranges available, I promise your blood orange crème brûlée will be a nice pretty pink
I don’t have a kitchen torch, so I use the broiler in my oven. It creates a darker sugar crust with more blackened spots. I like this because the sweet, slightly bitterness of the blackened sugar crust contrasts beautifully with the sweet, velverty creme. You can keep it on a more golden brown tone with a torch or keeping an even closer eye on your broiler.
- 1 cup blood orange juice, plus the zest of one orange
- ¼ cup sugar
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 4 egg yolks
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
- In a small saucepan, boil the blood orange juice until it is reduced to ½ cup. Add the zest, sugar and heavy cream and stir until combined and begins to lightly bubble. Remove from heat.
- Temper the eggs by slowly drizzling ½ of the cream mixture into the eggs and whisking the eggs constantly. Slowly add the egg mixture back with the rest of the cream and mix well.
- Strain everything through a fine mesh strainer and divide it into ramekins. Each ramekin should be about ⅔ pf the way full.
- Place the ramekins in a baking pan and fill the baking pan with water until it is halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Cover the baking pan with aluminum foil.
- Bake for about 45 - 60 minutes, or until the creme brulee is set. It should still jiggle in the center, but not be liquidy. Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate to completely set.
- Once you are ready to serve, add the sugar to each ramekin, swirling to ensure the creme brulee has an even coating of sugar. Use your oven broiler or kitchen torch to caramelize the sugar. Serve immediately, or within the hour or else the sugar crust will soften and become chewy.
Oh yum! And what a rip-off! I have been trying to find blood oranges too. Last year we could even find them at the corner fruit vendor in the the suburbs of Chengdu (Suburbs in China does NOT mean the same thing as it does in an American city…) and this year…nada. Nowhere. Maybe something happened to the crops…anyway, I’m glad you have a creme brulee recipe to put on your blog…I’ve been thinking of trying one out this summer…with my dad’s blowtorch. There’s something that makes a home cook feel like they’re living on the edge when they get to play with tools from the garage to make FIRE on a dessert…
I am not sure where you are now Christine but I was able to find some at Trader Joe’s about a week ago. I live in Colorado and found them at the Boulder store. When I lived in Virginia I also would find them at Trader Joe’s near me. All the best 🙂
Amanda – this sounds super good. I have all the ingredients except a blow torch lol. I think I am going to try to make it and if it turns out well (high altitude + the fact that I suck at making desserts) I will go out and get a blow torch 🙂
I need to invest in a blowtorch. Broiling is good, but I like to have more control. Like I said in the post though, the blacker spots are my favorite part! You get more of them with the broiler, but more control is still nice. I hope it turns out for you. I have no idea how to work with high altitude! This creme brûlée is fairly foolproof though 🙂
Thanks for the advice. We’re currently in China right now, so I’ll have to wait until next season when we’re back in snowy WI, I guess. Have fun making this! I love that she gave us a non-blow torch option… it’s like she knew some of us have a history with setting things on fire when we cook…;p
Oh no, what a horrible orange story. At least they made it to your door! And ended in a gorgeous creme brulee. Just look at that cracked top with creaminess underneath!
Sigh. Just sigh. This sounds perfect – creamy, rich, and orangey. I get frustrated about the blood orange conspiracy, too. :/ They are so hard to find!
Love both blood oranges and creme brulee; together I’m betting it’s pure magic.
I love this dessert. Creme Brûlée was my favorite dessert as an adult. It’s been on my to-do list but I haven’t gotten around to making a batch. Your blood orange version sounds and looks wonderful. A special purchase well worth it. 🙂