30 B4 30 Day 4: Make Creme Brulee

Nothing for me is ever easy. I honestly don't remember ever coasting through anything. Baking is no different. I enjoy it and most of what I bake comes out delicious, but how it gets to that point is always a disaster. I am not graceful and would never be able to have a show on the Food Network because I make a mess and I am no one's Paula Deen or Giada De Laurentiis. I've made cakes, cupcakes, cookies, truffles and even souffles, but since my kitchen is a shoebox, I wear a red polka dot apron and create a tornado. For instance, today's item for the 30 B4 30 project is to Make Creme Brulee, which was a very interesting experience.

First, I bought the Creme Brulee set at Bed, Bath & Beyond and it came with a torch and 4 ramekins. Then I went to Pathmark to pick up the ingredients that I didn't already have in my cupboard. They didn't have vanilla bean, so I had to get pure vanilla extract instead. Sometimes substitutions have to be made.

Then, I got home and started the process. I had to combine the cream, milk and vanilla and then bring it to a boil. After I saw it starting to boil, it started to boil over and like an idiot, I let it happen. It was like watching a car accident and not being able to do anything about it. After the mess was made, I picked it up and moved it to another burner but not before it spilled all over the stove. Then I foolishly tried to sop up the mess with a paper towel and hit the hot burner by mistake, igniting the paper towel. Then I screamed like a girl. It was a good thing I was lazy this morning and didn't wash the dishes because there was a bowl in the sink filled with water so I threw the flaming towel in there. Then TK rushed in to see if I was setting our apartment on fire, which I was not...anymore.

Finally, I blended the rest of the mixture and poured it into the ramekins, created the water bath and placed them in the oven. Phew! But, that wasn't the end of my problems. After the 30 minutes was up, I took the ramekins out of the oven and realized that there was no fuel in the torch. Can't caramelize the sugar without a flame. The burnt sugar crust on the top is what makes Creme Brulee, well, Creme Brulee (it means burnt cream in French). So, I put everything in the fridge and decided that this had to be put on hold until tomorrow. Now, where the hell do I find butane?

P.S. I will add photos upon completion of my task. My apologies.

UPDATE: Here are some photos of the Creme Brulee I finished today after I bought butane at Home Depot. Unfortunately, I put too much brown sugar on the top so there was no glass-like coating. But, the custard part was really good. Even TK liked it after I told him to just scrape the burnt sugar off the top. All in all, a slight success! Now to master the kitchen torch...