Page 232 - YC Cooking School

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originated in 17 century Catalonia. Interestingly, in those days they used to use a red-hot
iron to create the golden crust by bringing it close to the surface of the raw sugar and then

caramelising it.

Precision is important
Cooking can be about flamboyance and experimentation, but when it comes to baking and
desserts, you need to be a bit more precise. It’s all very well throwing in stuff willy-nilly but

then don’t be disappointed if your dessert is a disaster. With baking and desserts you need
to get your scientist’s coat out, carefully measure out all your ingredients and stick to the
recipe exactly.

Go for an even break

Crack the eggs onto a flat surface to get an even break. This makes separating them much
easier and it’s also not as messy.

Get creative with flavours
While measuring your ingredients carefully is key, you can also get creative with different

flavour combinations. You can use orange rind, lemon rind and cinnamon to create the
original crème bruléeflavour, or mix it up a bit by adding vanilla, thyme, rosemary or even
lavender. Yum.

Test for the ribbon stage

You’re looking for an egg and sugar mixture that has been whipped to the point of
becoming light in colour and fluffy in texture. How do you know when it’s ready to receive
the heated milk? Lift some of the mixture up with your whisk and hold it above the bowl. If
the mixture falls from the whisk with a ribbon-like consistency, you know you’re good to go.

Add the milk mixture slowly
It’s very important to pour the hot milk mixture into the creamy egg mixture very slowly and
whisk as you go. If you pour it all in at once, you run the risk of cooking your eggs, which
won’t be pretty at all (scrambled eggs anyone?). Make sure you also give the bowl a final
whisk to detach all the delicious goodness before returning your custard to the pot.

Arm yourself with a whisk and spatula
You’ll get best results if you use both of these handy tools. The whisk is great for keeping
your custard light and fluffy and detaching the custard from the sides of the pot. The
spatula is nifty for scraping the bottom of the pot and stopping the mixture from burning.
Keep whisking the mixture over a medium heat and then scraping it with your spatula until
you notice the custard starting to thicken.

Do the line test to check for doneness
You’ll know your custard has reached the correct consistency when it coats the back of your
spoon and you can draw a line across it with your finger that doesn’t instantly join again.

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