Serving Creme Brulee to a large group of people
I have 60 creme brulees set in mason jars. The idea is to serve this to a group of 60 people at once. How do I ensure my crust for the first one doesn't get soggy? Each creme brulee, from opening to torching takes about 30-60 seconds. This means the first one could end up sitting for 30-60 minutes before all are complete. This will definitely get the crust soggy by the time of service.
Any ideas on preventing this?
Best Answer
To be honest I wouldn't have thought the top would get soggy. I've also made hundreds of brûlées for wedding parties in the past and the top has never gone soft. Unless you're putting them in the fridge between colorizing and serving? That will definitely cause problems.
If you are actually getting a soggy top it means one of two things:
- You've not browned them enough.
- You've not used enough sugar on the top.
One thing I could suggest if you are doing so many in one go, something I learnt quite late into being a pastry chef (6 months of a two year stint): make a nice perfectly coloured caramel, leave it to cool a little, but keep warm. Then when you need it just pour it over the top of your brûlées as you're serving.
Be sure to use glucose in your caramel to stop it setting too hard, as it may splinter and kill a couple of your guests.
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Can you prepare creme brulee in advance?
Can You Make Classic Creme Brulee Ahead of Time? Yes! One of my favorite parts about this classic creme brulee is that it can be made up to 4 days ahead of time. Store them in the refrigerator and at the last minute, just sprinkle the sugar on top and caramelize it.How should creme brulee be served?
Cr\xe8me br\xfbl\xe9e should be served in a shallow ramekin. It's rich, so 4-6 oz. is plenty. It should be br\xfbl\xe9ed (torched) right before service because part of the joy of the cr\xe8me br\xfbl\xe9e is the sensation of warm on top/cold on the bottom and the juxtaposition of the warm crisp sugar br\xfbl\xe9e with the creamy cool custard.How long before serving can you brûlée?
Chill for at least 4 hours, or up to 4 days, before serving. Br\xfbl\xe9e the custards: When ready to serve, remove the custards from fridge. Sprinkle the surface of each custard evenly with about 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar.Do you serve creme brulee warm or cold?
It is traditional for cr\xe8me br\xfbl\xe9es to be served cold. If you like it cold, place the ramekins back in the refrigerator. They can be refrigerated for about 30 to 45 minutes before serving (no longer, otherwise the sugar crust may begin to soften).How to make Crème Brûlée RECIPE
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Answer 2
Different cultures have creme brulee with hard or soft tops. I like them crackable
Make the toffee/caramel tops separately some hours earlier, and store in an airtight container
When ready to serve. Line up all the creme's. Have one person carefully placing the tops, while a second person uses the largest torch you have to just blast the middle to cause it to stick to the creme. Fifty can be done in a few minutes just before serving
It just a mater of finding 3 x 4 muffin tins or similar as molds, with the same base size or slightly smaller than your ramekins tops
For an artistic look, make large very thin sheets of toffee/caramel and shatter them into pieces. Poke a couple of large pieces just into the creme at a slight angle to the surface, and then finish with scatter of smaller pieces and crumbs. A very short blast of a large torch will set them in place. much more interesting
Or go overboard and blow some toffee/caramel balls the right size the day before, and use a hot wire cutter (used to cut polystyrene packaging) to make a half sphere to place on top, or invert and fill with creme! (store sugar balls in airtight containers etc...)
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