Someday, I hope to make the perfect Crème brûlée
While he may be a high school boy and I may be an almost-26-year-old woman, I’ve really been relating to Zeke from High School Musical lately. So, I decided to kick off my cooking adventures by attempting to make his goal dessert: crème brûlée.
If you don’t know who Zeke is—umm, where were you in 2006?—he was a basketball player who had a secret love for baking, but he was scared to share that info, as he feared the reaction of his peers.
That’s kind of where I’ve been at lately/my whole life. Like Zeke, nearly all of my anxieties have stemmed from my concerns about what other people would think, and blogging about cooking—and blogging in general—has been a prime example.
After coming home from the Dominican, I had the post-vacation blues plus I was sad that I wouldn’t be able to longboard because of the snow, so, I spent a lot of time in my head—which is never a good thing for me!
I got to thinking, “Who would care to follow along as I learn to cook? And who would care to follow along as I do any of these things that I’m trying to learn?”
As a result, I haven’t been doing any blog-related stuff.
But, with the help of people like Gary Vee and Rachel Hollis (I love them both and suggest you follow them), I’ve been trying not to give a bleep about what you bitches have to say—even though people have only been really nice and saying that my blog is cute, lol.
Another thing (I swear I’m getting to the food soon), I often think: Someone suggested naming a clothing store OshKosh B’gosh. Imagine being in a business meeting, trying to decide what your company name will be, and someone raises their hand and suggests a wonky name like OshKosh B’gosh!
OshKosh I could see. But B apostrophe gosh? That was one brave SOB to share that idea, and look at how successful that company is now.
Point is, worrying what other people think is never helpful; it could result in you not doing things you want to do.
So, if someone can not only suggest the name Osh Kosh B’gosh, but also turn that into a successful business, then Zeke can be a baker, and I can blog about making a goddamn crème brûlée.
I met Rachel Hollis when she was in Toronto!
Anyway… I’m going to talk about food now.
This is what I wanted to make:
Considering most of the food I’ve made hasn’t turned out (check this out for a reminder: Hungry Girl Learns to Cook) and that I’m a Lean Cuisine queen, this was a big first goal. But, I decided to go for it, as “there’s not a star in heaven that [I] can’t reach.” #HighSchoolMusical
This recipe called for just four ingredients: heavy cream, vanilla extract, egg yolks, and sugar. Plus some ramekins.
After Googling what a ramekin is (it’s the container to put the dessert in), I went to Walmart to get what I needed.
Notice how the middle bowl doesn’t have a lid? Well, it’s because I accidentally dropped it on the ground and broke it.
So, I had to evacuate the store immediately, and I never bought any ramekins.
My first baking attempt was off to a bad start…
I ended up using teacups I had at home instead of ramekins.
My ingredients.
Separated the egg yolks (which took forever) and added some sugar.
You may not think you need a butcher's knife for crème brûlée, but you do. You'll see why.
Teacups from home since I’m too clumsy to be in a store that has breakables.
Heating up the cream and vanilla.
This dessert ain’t gonna help my fresh breakouts.
After heating what needed to be heated and mixing everything that needed to be mixed, I filled the makeshift ramekins and put them in the oven.
Unlike the one-minute Tasty video, this whole process took about an hour, as I took a lot of time reading the instructions over and over again. I have a history of skipping steps, messing up, and making shitty food, but this time, I really wanted to get it right.
I put the goods in the oven, then in the fridge for a few hours.
After that, I put some sugar on the top to make the hard caramelized part.
Unfortunately, I don’t have a torch to harden the sugar, so I had to broil them in the oven instead, hoping to get the same effect.
As you can see, it looks kind of weird. Maybe it would look prettier if I had a torch, or maybe I messed something up.
But what matters most to me is the taste. So, I got the most brutally honest person I know—my mom—to come and be my first taste tester.
Maria’s not the kind of mom who tells you your stuff is good when it isn’t. And she said that my crème brûlée was yummy, so I consider this to be a success!
What I’ve learned/some realizations:
When you’re too worried about what other people think, you ain’t gonna get anywhere. So you kind of have to ignore people, and just keep making your shit, biatch.
High School Musical will always be relevant.
Why you need a butcher’s knife for crème brûlée.