Creme Brulee

It's everyone's favorite thing to get at a fancy restaurant, but you can do this at home with very little effort. You just need the equipment. Namely, ramekins & a torch. You can buy a set of ramekins for like $5. Really. As for the torch, save yourself the trouble and skip buying a kitchen torch. Mine runs out of butane so fast that it really takes the fun out of it. Alton Brown suggests just using a regular blowtorch. I concur. The process is exactly the same. You don't need a kitchen one. Now, to buy a blowtorch...

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 tbsp plus 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 extra large or jumbo egg yolks
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (use good vanilla, it will make a difference)

Preheat oven to 300 & prepare some boiling water.

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine cream and 2 tbsp sugar. Cook, stirring occasionally until small bubbles appear around edges of the pan, 5-6 minutes. Set aside.

In a bowl, beat the egg yolks and vanilla until smooth & light. Pour hot cream mixture into egg yolks, a little at a time, beating continuously until well blended. The instructions said to strain it through a sieve at this point but I did not. It's your call.

Next, divide among 4 ramekins & arrange them in a baking pan & fill pan with boiling water to halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Cover the pan loosely with foil and place on the middle shelf of your preheated oven.

Bake until the custard is just set, about 25 minutes. Then chill them in the fridge for 2-3 hours.

When you're ready to serve, take them out of the fridge, and sprinkle each with sugar evenly over the top. You really don't need that much.

With a torch, move the flame over the ramekins in a circular motion until sugar melts & becomes golden brown & bubbly.