crème brûlée

Crème brûlée

Crème brûlée (crème brulée in L'Orthographie 1990)^[1] (French for "burnt cream"; pronounced /ˌkrɛm bruːˈleɪ/ in English, [kʁɛm bʁyˈle] in French), burnt cream, crema catalana, or Trinity cream is a dessert consisting of a rich custard base topped with a layer of hard caramel, created by caramelizing sugar under a broiler, with a propane or butane torch or other intense heat source, or by pouring sugar on top of the custard. It is usually served cold in individual ramekins.

The custard base is normally flavoured with just vanilla, but it can be enhanced with chocolate, a liqueur, fruit, etc. Sometimes the hardened sugar on top will be caramelized by igniting a thin layer of liqueur sprinkled over the top (illustration). Cadbury plc also has a line of block chocolate in this flavour.

History

Burning crème brûlée

The exact origins of this dish are unknown, though the earliest known reference to it is in François Massialot's 1691 cookbook,^[2] and the French name was used in the English translation of this book, but the 1731 edition of Massialot's Cuisinier roial et bourgeois changed the name of the same recipe from "crème brûlée" to "crème anglaise".^[3] In the early eighteenth century, the dessert was called "burnt cream" in English.^[4]

In Britain, a version of crème brûlée (known locally as 'Trinity Cream' or 'Cambridge burnt cream') was introduced at Trinity College, Cambridge in 1879 with the college arms "impressed on top of the cream with a branding iron",^[5] although some cookbooks claim much earlier British origins for the dessert.^[6]

Crema catalana

Crema catalana.

Crema catalana (Catalan 'Catalan cream') or Crema de Sant Josep, is the Catalan version of Crème brûlée. It is usually served on Saint Joseph's Day (March 19). The custard is flavoured with lemon or orange zest and cinnamon. The set custard is chilled and, immediately before serving, sprinkled with sugar which is then caramelized with a specially-made iron or blow torch. The result is a hot, crunchy caramelized top contrasting with the cool, soft custard.

Catalans claim that their crema catalana is the predecessor of France's crème brûlée, though many regions lay claim to the origin of the dessert. The chief difference between the two is that crema catalana is not baked in a bain-marie as crème brûlée is.

Crema Catalana is also used as the basis for the Catalan torró of the same name.

See also

• Crème caramel or flan, a dessert consisting of a rich custard base topped with a layer of soft caramel
• Custard tart
• Egg tart
• Flan

Bibliography

• Alan Davidson, The Oxford Companion to Food, ISBN 0192115790.
• "Origin of Crème Brûlée", Petits Propos Culinaires 31:61 (March 1989).

References

1. ^ Reforms of French orthography#The rectifications of 1990
2. ^ French 1691 recipe with historical notes
3. ^ Harold McGee, On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen (Simon and Shuster) 2004:97; McGee notes "An English model for 'English cream' hasn't yet been unearthed."
4. ^ The Oxford English Dictionary has a 1723 quotation.
5. ^ Florence White, quoted in Davidson, s.v. crème brûlée;
6. ^ Smith, Delia (1997). Delia Smith's Complete Cookery Course. page 482: BBC. ISBN 0563362499. 

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