My husband recently took a two-week business trip to China and got back just in time for his Birthday. I wanted to make him a special Birthday dessert, especially since I knew he was so excited to eat American food again. I made a batch of homemade ice cream to have on hand and decided to attempt Crème Brûlée, one of his favorite desserts.

I browsed online for a basic recipe and stumbled upon the Pioneer Woman’s Crème Brûlée . I’ve enjoyed her recipes in the past because they are easy to follow and they’ve always turned out well, so I decided to give it a try.

Now that I had the recipe, I knew I needed to purchase a butane kitchen torch. I read some reviews on Amazon and decided to purchase the BonJour torch along with a set of oval ramekins meant for Crème Brûlée.

Bonjour Creme Brulee Torch Refill anatomy of my kitchen blowtorch, take thetime to study the manual and instructionssupplied with your kitchen blowtorch.Insert a butane canister into the kitchen torch following themanufacturer',s instructions. For most torches you simply open thehandle compartment. I won a creme brulee torch in a white elephant party at christmas. I tried it out this week finally. I have to say, I don't find it faster than the broiler and the results aren't as good as the broiler either. It scorched too quickly even with plenty of motion. But it could be my technique. Porcelain crafted, the Bonjour Creme Brulee Set set lets you create professional creme brulee at home. The set includes four 4oz. Oval ramekins and a powerful butane torch. The cool-touch metal torch features an anti-flare flame that quickly caramelizes sugar without heating the layer custard below. New Listing creme brulee torch Bonjour with recipe book. 1 product rating - BonJour Chef's Creme Brulee Torch 53386 In Box With Manual. BonJour’s Chef’s Torch allows you to make restaurant quality desserts at home. Not only is the Chef’s Torch an essential tool for preparing the classic Creme Brulee, but it also has a variety of other great uses in the home kitchen including browning meringue and melting cheese on onion soup gratinee. Refillable Butane Blow Torch with Large Capacity: Our torch can be refilled when runs out and it ONLY FISTS BUTANE GAS. Capacity: 16g butane gas. 1 x Blow torch (butane gas not included). Use acceptable butane gas, otherwise it is possible to break the lighter or shorten service life.BUTANE GAS ONLY.

From a renowned, innovative French gourmet cookware company, BonJour’s Chef’s Tools Butane Torch is a perfectly competent culinary torch. Fashioned from aluminum, it is especially sturdy and easy-to-use with an aesthetically pleasing red-and-black design.

I stopped at the grocery store, loaded up on heavy cream and eggs, and purchased superfine Baker’s sugar for the caramelized topping. I’ve heard regular sugar can be used as a replacement, but it takes longer to caramelize.

Even though the recipe looked fairly easy (and resembled the process for making homemade ice cream) I was somewhat intimidated by it. Maybe it had something to do with using a torch with an open flame in my kitchen? Despite my slight hesitation, I decided to continue my attempt at this dessert.

After preheating the oven, I heated heavy cream and vanilla extract in a saucepan and allowed it to simmer. In a separate bowl, I whipped egg yolks with sugar until they were pale yellow. Similar to ice cream, I tempered the eggs, meaning I slowly added hot cream to the eggs to ensure they didn’t cook. Once all of the cream was added and mixed in, the batter was ready.

I placed my ramekins on a cookie sheet and slowly added water until it surrounded the ramekins and went about halfway up the sides. I used a Pyrex measuring cup with a spout to distribute the custard batter between the ramekins. Even though I cut the recipe in half, I still had a lot of leftover batter. Next time I make it, I will cut the recipe into fourths.

I carefully transferred the cookie sheet with filled ramekins to the oven and baked for 35 minutes.

After removing from the oven, I allowed the ramekins to cool and then transported them to the refrigerator. I didn’t read the recipe thoroughly before I started and therefore was not able to plan accordingly for the 2 to 3 hours of chilling time needed. I had already started on dinner by the time I realized it so I only ended up leaving them in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

Right before I was ready to serve dessert, I sprinkled a small spoonful of superfine sugar on top of each ramekin. After reading the manual and figuring out how the heck to use the torch, I carefully ignited the flame and quickly browned the sugar on top of each ramekins – surprisingly without burning it!

Bonjour Creme Brulee Torch User Manual User

There was a nice, thin layer of caramelized sugar on top that added the perfect crispness to the creamy custard.

Bonjour Creme Brulee Torch User Manual Instructions

Since I didn’t allow the ramekins to chill for the recommended time, the custard did not firm up as much as it should have, so the texture was a bit off. However, they still managed to taste great. While my attempt didn’t turn out perfectly, it was a good learning experience and I know how to improve the process for next time. Overall I was pleased with the recipe and the result. It ended up being a great Birthday dessert and I will definitely be making Crème Brûlée again!