Butterscotch Creme Brulee for Two

I can’t begin to tell you how enamored I remain of my crème brulee torch.This is the fifth or sixth batch of crème brulee I’ve made since Christmas. I’ve made chocolate crème brulees several times, but I’m still perfecting that recipe – the first batch tasted like heaven but was a bit too firm; in the second batch, I erred too far the other way and ended up with something too pudding-y – but neither experiment was at all taxing to consume. They’re just not ready for prime time, as it were.

I love butterscotch flavors and had been hankering to make butterscotch crème brulees for a while, but fear of burnt sugar put me off. Don’t let it dissuade you! As long as you use a modest burner heat and keep the half and half ready to be dumped in to the caramelized sugar at just the right instant, this should come out perfectly. I found the ease of this recipe rather ironic, as I had been expecting to be much more fussy than chocolate crème brulee.

This is what they looked like before the sugar shell, in lovely natural light 

I used my own crème brulee for two recipe as a template. I’m not sure why, but I felt like this gave me smaller crème brulees – or maybe I just divided the custard less evenly between the ramekins this time. But really, a little crème brulee goes a long way, and these were the perfect finale to a nice meal of roasted tomato soup.

By the by, I will be on vacation abroad when you read this, so if I'm unresponsive to comments, it's because I expect to spend very little time on the internet.  I'll be in France and Germany.  More on that will follow through the wonder that is automatic posting.