Maple Crème Brûlée

As you may know, this week I'm focusing on maple syrup. I've made an appetizer and a main dish; now it's time for a dessert.

Last week, I asked the foodies on Twitter for some of their favorite recipes that use maple syrup. I received several links to recipes and have made some of them. I dug through my pile of recipes that I wanted to try and found three recipes that I'd cut out from a variety of sources. This is a combination of the three.

Some interesting facts about maple syrup:

• Usually a maple tree is at least 30 years old and 12 inches in diameter before it is tapped.
• Tapping does no permanent damage and only 10 percent of the sap is collected each year. Many maple trees have been tapped for 150 or more years.
• Maple syrup accounts for 85% of the world's total supply (according to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada).
• Depending on the size of the maple tree, it can have up to 4 taps.
• It isn't known why the sugar maple has sweeter sap with better flavor than other maples.
• Maple syrup contains a significant amount of the recommended daily allowance for potassium and calcium.
• Once the maple tree starts to bud, the sap becomes unsavory.

Recipe

Serves 6

2 cups (500 mL) heavy whipping cream
½ cup (125 mL) maple syrup
2 large eggs
2 egg yolks
1 tablespoon (15 mL) pure vanilla extract
1 vanilla bean, scraped
¼ cup (50 mL) maple sugar or packed brown sugar
Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Line a baking pan with a double thickness of paper towels and put the ramekins in the pan. Fill a kettle with water and bring water to a boil.

In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, heat cream with syrup and scraped vanilla bean. Bring mixture to a boil. Remove immediately from the heat and let cool slightly.

In a bowl, whisk the eggs, egg yolks, and vanilla until combined. Continue whisking and slowly drizzle in a bit of the hot cream mixture to temper or warm, the eggs so they won't curdle. Keep whisking and slowly pour in the remaining cream mixture.

Skim any foam off the top of the mixture. Pour mixture into six 2/3-cup ramekins. Carefully place the baking pan into the oven. Then pour enough hot water from the kettle into the baking pan so that water comes halfway up the sides of the ramekins.

Bake for 35 minutes, or until the centers are firm but jiggle slightly. Remove ramekins from the pan and let cool. Cover each ramekin with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or longer.

To serve: Sprinkle sugar evenly over top of cooked and cooled custards. Using a torch, move the flame continuously over the surface of the ramekins until the sugar melts and becomes golden brown and bubbly. As it cools, it hardens.

Tasting Notes
The maple flavor is very subtle in this dessert. I might add a touch more just to make it more prominent. I tried using maple sugar to make the brûlée, but it burnt too quickly. Regular sugar worked better. I love cracking through the brûlée and tasting the crunchy sugar and smooth custard together.

Other Maple Syrup Desserts
• Under the High Chair: Pudding Chomeur
• Nigella's Gleaming Maple Cheesecake

Other Crème Brûlée Desserts
• Dorie's Crème Brûlée
• Pumpkin Crème Brûlée