Vanilla Rum Crème Brûlée

Playing with fire

Once fire was discovered, the instinct for improvement made men bring food to it. - Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

François Massialot was one of the greatest and most influential chefs in the history of French cuisine. Born in Limoges in 1660, Massialot worked his way up and into the most illustrious kitchens, serving as Chef de Cuisine - Officier de Bouche - for Philippe I, Duc d’Orléans, the brother of Louis XIV, his son Philippe II, Duc d’Orléans, the Duke of Aumont, Cardinal d’Estrees, and the Marquis de Louvois, preparing banquets in such sumptuous locations as the Château de Sceaux , the Château de Meudon, et the Palace of Versailles. Massialot’s cookbooks, including Le cuisinier royal et bourgeois, first published anonymously in 1691, eventually including 3 additional volumes and being re-edited in 1733-1734 (to be re-titled Le cuisinier royal et bourgeois ou cuisinier moderne) and Nouvelle instruction pour les confitures, les liqueurs et les fruits first published in 1692, became reference books for chefs and historians alike for both his recipes and his methodology. 

But Massiolot’s most outstanding contributions to the world of French cuisine include his being the first to alphabetize the recipes in his books - a truly innovative step towards creating the first culinary dictionary - being the first to call meringues meringues, and the invention of the crême brûlée.

1691 edition of Massialot’s cookbook

The exact origin of the crême brûlée has certainly been disputed; the Catalans, the English, and the French each having a version of this dessert and claiming theirs as the original. The first written reference to a crême Catalan was indeed in the Llibre de Sent Soví, a collection of recipes written in vernacular Catalan in 1324, while Massialot’s crême brulée, the first reference to the recipe  in French, didn’t appear until 1691. The English custard first appeared in The Forme of Cury, a collection of recipes dating back to the 14th century, but only evolving from savory to sweet over the next few centuries. It is likely that Massialot had seen and tasted both the Catalan and the English versions, having spent some of his youth in London and later accompanying Louis XIV’s military architect Sébastien Le Prestre, Marquess de Vauban through the Pyrenees which straddle the French-Spain border. 

It’s quite possible that Massialot, our genius chef, combined those culinary experiences and his knowledge to create the unique dessert that is crême brûlée. 

And, like with so many recipes, a touch of accident and a dash of quick thinking innovation gave his creative genius a boost.

When Massialot was in the service of the Duc d’Orléans père, meal service proceeded in such a manner that dishes brought to the table hot had the time to cool down before eaten. During a particular dinner, the younger brother of Louis XIV was served a sweet cream that was no longer warm and thus not to his royal liking. He complained to the chef that the custard was too cold. Massialot had the clever idea to spoon sugar onto the dessert and heat it with a hot iron, the resulting caramel, hot and crunchy, contrasted so beautifully with the cool, silky cream underneath that Philippe ate it and asked for more. And the crème brûlée was born.

1702 English translation of Massialot’s cookbook

Crème brûlée, like most custards and similar preparations, from crème anglaise to crème pâtissière, flan to quiche filling, is based on a mixture of eggs or egg yolks, milk and/or cream, sugar, and often a starch or thickener such as flour or cornstarch, then cooked, either on the stovetop or in the oven, each custard having its own unique consistency. Crème brûlée is gently pre-heated on the stovetop then baked in the oven until just set. Once it is out of the oven, the crème brûlée is allowed to cool or even chill, dusted with sugar, then, as Massialot writes: on prend la pelle du feu, bien rouge; & du même temps on en brûle la crème, afin qu’elle prenne une belle couleur d’or (one takes the fire-shovel heated to red hot and burn the cream until it takes on a beautiful color of gold). Actually, don’t do that. Use a kitchen blow torch to carefully caramelize the sugar to a deep golden brown or, if you prefer, set the ramekins on a baking sheet and caramelize the sugar under a gas-oven broiler, watching carefully so it doesn’t burn. 

François Massialot’s crème brûlée was flavored, as was popular in the day, with cinnamon, lime peel, and either lemon or orange peel. For creating a “more delicate” dessert, he suggested adding ground pistachios or almonds and a drop of orange flower water. Personally, I love the combination of vanilla and dark or amber rum for my crème brûlée.

Vanilla Rum Crème Brûlée

Makes 10 - 12 individual crèmes/servings

Using all cream or a combination of cream and whole milk will make a thicker, richer crème brûlée; replacing some of the cream with low fat milk, as I do, makes a lighter, a slightly more wobbly crème brûlée. While Massialot adds a pinch of flour, I do not. Flavor the crème brûlée as you like.

I sometimes make 6 the first day, refrigerate the remaining half of the cream mixture, then bake the rest the following day. This recipe should work by cutting it in half.

2 cups (500 ml) heavy or whole cream

2 cups 500 ml) whole or low-fat milk

1 ½ vanilla bean pods, split lengthwise, the beans scraped out

9 – 10 large egg yolks

¾ cups (150 grams) white granulated sugar

Pinch salt

2 - 4 tablespoons amber or dark rum

Brown or white granulated sugar for the caramel topping

Place the cream and milk in a saucepan with the vanilla pods and the seeds that have been scraped from the pods. Heat the milk; when it begins to steam and comes just barely to the boil, remove the saucepan from the heat, cover the pot and allow the vanilla to steep in the milk for at least 30 minutes. Stir 2 tablespoons of the rum into the liquid.

Preheat the oven to 250°F (130°C) and have clean, single-serving ramekins lined up on a large baking sheet and ready to go. I baked six the first day, stored the remaining cream in the refrigerator and baked the second half dozen the following day.

After the 30 minutes steeping time, gently reheat the liquid back up just to the simmer and remove from the heat again. Whisk the egg yolks, the sugar, and a small pinch salt together vigorously in a large heatproof (Pyrex) bowl; you will want to place the bowl on a non-skid surface or a kitchen towel that has been shaped into a “nest” – you will be whisking the eggs vigorously with one hand while pouring the hot cream into the bowl with the other and you want the bowl to remain still and steady.

Carefully remove the vanilla pods from the hot cream. Pour this hot liquid (the steeped cream and milk) in a slow but steady stream into the egg yolks and sugar as you whisk; this will slowly warm the egg yolks without cooking them. Taste and add more rum if desired; I added up to 2 more tablespoons.

Divide the liquid between the ramekins, filling each one almost to the rim - this is easiest with a soup ladle or by transferring the cream to a spouted (heatproof/Pyrex) measuring cup. Bake in the preheated oven for about an hour – watch carefully starting about 45 minutes into the baking time as ramekin size/depth and ovens risk making a difference in baking times. The custards or crèmes are done when they wobble gently when nudged but are set all the way to the center.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to chill and firm up.

Before serving, remove the custards from the refrigerator and check for condensation; if there are spots of water on the surface, carefully blot the water off with a paper towel. Sprinkle a thin layer of brown or white granulated sugar evenly over the surface of the custard all the way to the edges. Making sure that your ramekins are on a safe surface that won’t burn or melt if the flame hits it (just in case), hold the flame of your torch a couple of inches from the custard, moving it in small circles to melt the sugar evenly, then brown it evenly. If your flame is too hot or too close to the custard, you'll end up burning the sugar, giving it a bitter flavor. Alternately, you can place the ramekins with the sugar-covered creams on a baking sheet and place under a gas-oven broiler to caramelize, keeping a close watch on them as they might go from golden to burned rather quickly. 

Let the crèmes brulées sit for a minute or two for the caramel to harden into the characteristic crisp shell before serving.

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