Butterscotch Pot de Creme

This is soo yummy, it's just kinda like a caramel pudding. It's out of the September 2009 GQ. A little tip though, seriously follow all of the steps, especially the refrigeration time and cooling time and cooking time. Just follow the recipe. This recipe makes six, but I like to half it, which is a bit weird halving the 1/4's but whatever.

Ingredients:

6 eggs yolks

1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar

1 cup milk

2 cups heavy cream

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon salt (the salt is really important it's what makes it taste like butterscotch. But don't put too much in or else it'll taste sweet-ly salty, not carame-ly)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees

2. Place eggs yolks in a large bowl and lightly whisk till smooth. Set aside.

3. Over a medium high flame, heat the brown sugar, milk, and cream in a heavy saucepan and stir until the brown sugar starts to dissolve. Then heat until the milk is steaming and tiny bubbles have formed along the edges, but do not boil. Remove from heat. Cover to keep warm with a cloth.

4. In a medium saucepan, combine the granulated sugar with 1/2 cup of water and bring to a boil over high heat. As soon as the sugar turns amber, remove from heat. Carefully add 1/4 cup of the hot cream mixture, whisking until combined. Whisk in 2 more cups of the cream mixture then add the rest.

5. Pour the caramel cream into the yolks in a slow, steady stream. Do it too fast and you risk scrambling the eggs with it's heat. Gently whisk the mixture continuously. Stir in the vanilla and salt. Strain the custard through a sieve into a pitcher. Skim off any foam or bubbles on top.

6. Pour the custard into six 5- ounce ramekins, leaving 1/2 inch at the top of each. Place the ramekins in a roasting pan and carefully fill the pan with hot water until it comes halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Carefully ccover the pan with foil.

7. Bake in the oven for 45-47 minutes until set. (The temperature of the custard base and the water bath are factors that directly contribute to the time it takes for the time it takes for the crème to set. The hotter they are, the faster they'll set.) when the custard is gently shaken, the centre may seem a bit loose. This is okay. Remove the pan from the oven and let the crème finish setting in the water bath at room temperature uncovered. When cool, refrigerate uncovered to preserve the burnished cover.

Have fun!