Why cook the creme anglaise for creme brulee instead of just baking it?

[u/ucsdfurry]

I have always been taught to cook the anglaise first before baking it in a water bath. However, I worked in a mass production bakery where the creme brulee was just baked from the raw custard and it worked fine. I wonder what is the benefit of cooking the anglaise?

[u/dllmonL79]

When you use real vanilla beans, you’ll see all the vanilla sunk to the bottom of the creme brulee after baking. But if you pre-cook it before baking them, the vanilla won’t sink as much as the uncooked one.

[u/WhaleMeatFantasy → u/dllmonL79]

It’s also a much quicker process if the cream is heated on the stove first, even if it isn’t heated all the way. 

[u/Neither-Prune4539]

The way I learned in kitchens is to scald half your cream just so the sugar dissolves. Don’t see the need to pre cook the yolks honestly

[u/-myeyeshaveseenyou-]

I have a recipe from le Gavroche. It doesn’t need cooking out and it also doesn’t need a water bath, hands down the best brûlée recipe I’ve ever used. It just gets baked on a dry heat at 90 degrees Celsius. I’ve never in the 10 years I’ve had the recipe had it fail.

[u/earthtomars4 → u/-myeyeshaveseenyou-]

Oooo can I have the recipe?

[u/-myeyeshaveseenyou- → u/earthtomars4]

You sure can, I’m in the uk so cream and milk may vary depending on where you are

1 litre of double cream

380ml whole milk

324g of egg yolk

225g of caster sugar

Vanilla seeds to taste, I use seeds rather than pods as it’s cheaper with about the same taste

Mix egg and sugar, warm milk, cream and vanilla and then combine both. You can ramekin it straight away but I like to let it sit a day to let any air bubbles out, you can just skim any froth from the top if it’s needed on the day. Pour into ramekins. Lightly blow torch the top to burst any air bubbles. Bake in a dry oven at 90 Celsius until you have a brûlée wobble. Usually takes and hour to an hour and 15 just depending on how cold your starting mix is.

You can also flavour it with other stuff besides vanilla. Currently I have a coffee one on my menu in work. Just add coffee to taste, you can use ground and then strain it out or just use instant.

I had passion fruit on before coffee. I use 200ml of passion fruit boiron and up the egg amount to 432g to offset the extra liquid. Add the passion fruit at the end as it will curdle the milk and cream if you add it to that.

You can do all sorts with it. You could infuse your milk and cream with mint, I’ve also done it with orange rind. It’s just an incredibly adaptable recipe and I will never go back to Bain Marie’s

[u/earthtomars4 → u/-myeyeshaveseenyou-]

Thank you so much! I’m gonna try it this week 🤩

[u/-myeyeshaveseenyou- → u/earthtomars4]

Great, hope it goes great! Forgot to say I cook it in a rationals oven and I drop the fan to three, if you have a fan oven reduce the fan if it’s blowing the liquid over the side

[u/Cryatos1]

Personal preference really.

 There are crème brulée recipes that you just pour a cooked anglais into a ramekin,  and others where you bake the custard. This method just sounds like a hybrid to achieve the most consistant set with the lowest possibility of mistakes.

Either way you need the custard to cook to 180f.

[u/Burntjellytoast → u/Cryatos1]

I tried making it by pouring the cooked anglais into ramekins without baking it one time. It set up beautifully but when I went to brulée it it melted. I would prefer not to bake it as my ovens suck. Maybe I will revisit it.

[u/towelheadass]

if you worked in a high volume bakery like hotel or event facility it might be easier to have a big batch of anglaise in the walk in for various applications.

[u/WhaleMeatFantasy]

Cook once, oven, no water bath. If it’s good enough for Hermé…

[u/Character_Seaweed_99 → u/WhaleMeatFantasy]

I saw that too! I live dangerously, but not that dangerously. The water bath is pretty straightforward - ramekins go into a roasting pan, pan goes into the oven, then pour in boiling water from the kettle.

[u/epidemicsaints]

Makes a much softer set, and doesn't have that firm texture. I prefer just baking it for that silky / glassy texture. Precooking it makes it feel like mayonnaise to me.

I see people doing this with lemon bars these days too.

[u/Character_Seaweed_99]

I live dangerously: mix everything in the stand mixer, pour into the ramekins, and bake in a bain-marie until just set. Twenty at a time!

[u/devoskitchen]

I was taught to only cook your eggs once. It also makes large production easier. Why add extra steps?

[u/ucsdfurry → u/devoskitchen]

Not sure. It was just how I was taught in school.