This was made at one of our family dinners, though it would be a nice dish to serve on New Year’s Eve. It adds a bit of drama and family participation at the finish, but most of it can be made a day or two before.
The Custard Portion
1 cup milk
1 cup cream
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
Preheat the oven to 300 F. Grease 6 ramekins. Boil a kettle of water. This is your prep.
Heat the milk and cream in saucepan over medium heat until hot, but not boiling. In a bowl, combine eggs, yolks, sugar and vanilla. Whisk until well combined. To this, add a bit of the hot milk, whisking as you do, to bring it closer to the temperature of the hot milk. Slowly pour this mixture into the saucepan of hot milk, whisking well to combine. Pour the mixture through a strainer into something easy to pour from. Pour the strained custard into the ramekins. Place in a roasting tray and pour enough hot water around them to come halfway up the sides of the dishes. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until just set. Cool, and refrigerate until cold.
Just before serving, top each ramekin with 1 Tbsp. of sugar and flame with a torch or heat under broiler until you get a nice crust.
My husband overseeing my torching talents. His job is to refill the torch and be the “safety officer” 🙂