Burnt Cream

Before my boyfriend and I piled in the car to head down to my parents' for Christmas, we stopped at the mall to finish up our holiday shopping.  Unfortunately, that was the day I had found out I did not get the job I had applied for (no worries!  I've since gotten another, even better opportunity!)--and after some tears and heavy lunch drinking, I wandered off to buy him Celtics cufflinks he didn't need.  Despite the fact that he had already bought me enough Christmas presents, my boyfriend felt so bad for me that he did what all good boyfriends do: he went to Williams Sonoma.  And on Christmas Day I unwrapped an entirely unnecessary, completely extraneous present.  Yes, you guessed it---a blowtorch.

Why a blowtorch, you ask?  Why not a knife, peeler, or pancake mold in the shape of Darth Vader?  These are all great questions.  I'm not sure even he knows.  He simply plucked it off the shelf and asked for it to be gift wrapped.  And yes.  I am now the proud owner of a blowtorch.  My mother was absolutely horrified.  My brother promptly went to look for lighter fluid and things to light on fire.

Why the back-story?  Because for a Parisian film, what better treat to make than crème brûlée?  And so, never having attempting such a difficult, and, well, blow-torchy dessert, I thought--why not?  And while it did not end up exactly perfect, I do present to you my recipe for crème brûlée.  Oui Oui.  Eiffel Tour.  Berets.  Feeling french yet?

Vanilla Bean

Vanilla Bean Crème Brûlée
(Adapted from Williams Sonoma Recipe in the blowtorch box.)

You'll Need:
1/2 vanilla bean
2 cups heavy cream
3 egg yolks
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup plus 4 Tbs. sugar

1. Preheat an oven to 300°F. Have a pot of boiling water ready. Line a baking pan that is 2 to 3 inches deep with a small kitchen towel.
2. Using a small knife, split the vanilla bean lengthwise down the middle and scrape the seeds into a 2-quart saucepan. 
3. Add the cream, mix together and then turn on the heat to medium-high. Warm the cream until bubbles form around the edges of the pan and steam begins to rise from the surface. Remove from the heat and set aside, about 15 minutes.
4. In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, salt and the 1/4 cup sugar until smooth and blended. Gradually whisk in the cream to the egg mixture, continuing until blended. 
5. Pour the custard through a fine-mesh sieve set over a bowl. Divide the custard among four 5- or 6-oz. ramekins and place the ramekins in the prepared baking pan. 
6. Add boiling water to fill the pan halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Cover the pan loosely with aluminum foil and bake until the custard is just set around the edges, 35 to 40 minutes.

7. Transfer the ramekins to a wire rack and let cool to room temperature. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to 3 days.
8. Just before serving, sprinkle 1 Tbs. of the sugar evenly over each custard. Using a kitchen torch (woohoo, open flame!), torch the sugar until it hardens and is slightly golden brown.  Do not burn--no matter how much fun the torch is.  Serve immediately and enjoy!

Despite my best efforts, the custard did not completely harden and took on an almost yogurty texture.  I was also a little overzealous with my first torching, and used too much sugar and too much flame.  (Note to boyfriend: I can totally use the torch.  You don't need to hover next to me, eyes wide with terror.)  Burnt sugar=yuck.  Still, though a little burnt and soupy, the taste was delicious.  Make sure you use real vanilla beans instead of vanilla extract.  It makes a serious difference.  I also used some leftover strawberries as garnishes, as seen below.  Now I just have to figure out--what else can I torch?  Muhuhahahahaha....

There are several very helpful videos online, and I've put the one I used below.  Check him out--doesn't he look official?

It takes a village...

There are some stores that you go into knowing you will make completely unnecessary purchases.  Brookstone, for example, or Papyrus.  For me, that store is Williams-Sonoma.  Yes, I know I can get similar cooking items from Homegoods or Macy's.  And yes, I know this store is outrageously expensive.  But every time (especially when aided and abetted by my mom) I walk into that store I end up purchasing sometime I absolutely don't need.  And this Christmas Eve was no exception.

I bought a village bunt pan.

What is a village bunt pan you ask?  I'll tell you.  It is a mold that makes small, Christmas village-type houses out of cake.

When would one use something like this?  Well, when one was making a Christmas village cake of course!  (So, like, once).

Don't judge me!  These houses were awesome.  After I made them I stood back and stared.  Did I really just make those?  They're beautiful.  Of course next came the inevitable problem.  I slaved all Christmas Day making this cake, put it down on the table, and as we all stared at it said, "Nope, sorry.  We can't eat this today.  Too pretty."  Luckily there was an incredible back-up key lime pie.

We finally ate it (or some of it, anyway) and the village crumbled and died.  I put away the pan for next year, when I may or may not make village bunts again.  Probably not.  Hey, at least I didn't buy the Star Wars pancake molds!  No matter how big my Williams-Sonoma delusion, I know deep in my soul I don't need a Millennium Falcon shaped pancake in my life.

Now I will admit to also purchasing the Brown Sugar Bunt cake mix from WS as well, which I used to make the houses.  But the cake and frosting are all my own.  And yes, I did make the cake chocolate because it was the dirt underneath the white frosting (or snow) of the village.  Ok, you can judge me now.  And I made a tree.

My Village Cake
You'll need:
A Williams and Sonoma Village pan.  Seriously.  There's no way around this unless you are the Cake Boss.
A rectangular or circular cake 9" or larger pan with vertical sides (large enough to fit all the houses, you can test this before you bake)
Parchment paper
Brown Sugar Bunt mix (interchangeable with a different mix or your own recipe, but I recommend bunt mixes for their ability to maintain a shape)
Either a ziplock bag or a pastry bag with decorating tips
Lots of Pam
2 cups sugar

1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

4 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup boiling water

2 sticks butter

3 cups powdered sugar

2 tablespoons half and half

Green food coloring

Sugar ice cream cones

Candy for decorating (I choose red and white MandMs and snowmen peeps)

For the dirt (cake):

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease baking pan.  Place a long rectangular strip of parchment paper along pan so it comes out both sides.  This will be it much easier to lift the cake out of the pan when frosting later. 
2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and 2 teaspoons vanilla; beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake 45to 60 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan to platter using parchment lifts. Cool completely.

For the snow (frosting):

1. Combine butter, 2 cups powdered sugar, half and half, and remaining vanilla in an electric mixer.  
2. Beat until fully combined.  The measurements aren't precise, feel free to add more of any ingredient until you create a spreadable, creamy frosting with the right flavor.

  
For the houses:

1. Prepare the bunt mix and preheat the oven according to instrutions.
2. Liberally spray the pan with Pam.
3. Evenly distribute the battle to each house well.
4. Bake until toothpick inserted inside comes out clean.  Let stand for 10 minutes to cool.
5. Slice any extra cake from the tops of the wells so the bottoms of the houses are flat.  Upend and place houses on a platter to cool.

To decorate:

1. Frost "ground" cake.   Place each house on top, and decorate houses as desired
2. Pipe green food colored frosting onto cones and decorate with candy.  Place on cake.
3. Once everything is decorated, sift powdered sugar over the top like snow.

What does this have to do with Going My Way?  Well Bing did love a White Christmas.  Also, he's big on families and neighborhoods in the movie.  Finally, I'm pretty sure one of those houses is a church.