Thursday, February 10, 2011

Red Velvet Creme Brulée for Two

As you know Matt & I love to eat out but we tend to avoid restaurants on holidays like Valentine's Day. The crowds, over-priced set menus & harried servers don't make for what we consider a special dining experience. So, we chose another night to go out & cook something special up at home. This year I decided to make Matt some French Onion Soup, his favorite, & something special for dessert. Since he is in San Francisco this week (someone explain to me why he gets to go to SF & Austin the two coldest weeks of the year & I get left in Mpls?!) I had some time to play with dessert ideas. I wanted something red velvet but not just your regular red velvet cake. At first I thought of panna cotta but I've watched enough Top Chef to know if you don't know what you're doing it won't set right. Then I thought of creme brulee. There are chocolate creme brulees so why not red velvet?!
Red Velvet Creme Brulee
I took the basic creme mixture, cream, egg yolks & sugar & added some cocoa, buttermilk & of course, red food coloring to turn it into red velvet.
Red Velvet Creme Brulee
The end result was a creamy, almost mousse like, brulee with a dark red crispy top & red velvet inside. The flavor was not overly sweet & just chocolatey enough. I can't wait to make it for Matt on Monday but, in the meantime, this test batch is all mine!
Red Velvet Creme Brulee

Red Velvet Creme Brulée for Two

3 large egg yolks
2 T white sugar
2 T unsweetened cocoa
1/2 t vanilla
1/4 c buttermilk
1/2 c heavy cream
1/2 - 1 t red food coloring
More sugar for the top (white or brown though I tried brown the second time & it worked a lot better)

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Whisk the egg yolks & sugar together until well blended. Shift in the cocoa & whisk until there are no lumps. Whisk in the vanilla. Slowly whisk in the buttermilk & cream. Stir in the food coloring.

Put two 1 cup ramekins into a larger baking pan. Divide the batter between the two ramekins. Pour enough boiling water in the baking pan to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Carefully move into the oven. Bake for 30 minutes. You want the sides to be set but the center to still be a little wobbily.
Red Velvet Creme Brulee out of the oven
Let cool in the water for 30 minutes. Remove from the water bath, cover & refrigerate for 2 - 24 hours.
Red Velvet Creme Brulee
Sprinkle the top of the brulee with a good amount of sugar & melt with a torch or in the broiler. Keep a really close eye on it so the sugar doesn't burn. I find moving the torch around a lot helps though I did get a few little burns still.

Makes 2 servings.

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19 comments:

  1. What a great idea! So, being the chef has it's perks, like getting the test batch for yourself. Still, the warmer weather might have been nice, too. ;)

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  2. My hubby loves red velvet and I love creme brulee, what a great recipe!
    We'll be sitting home that night too, but with fabulous food. ;)

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  3. This is awesome!! I needed this for my red velvet week last week!

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  4. Love this dessert for two. It is the perfect size!

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  5. uhm, yes i'd say Matt has some 'splainin' to do! SF while you're hunkered down in Mnpls - absolutely entitled to that batch of gorgeous Red Velvet Creme Brulee all to yourself!

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  6. Wow, interesting! Now I just have to locate my brulee torch...

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  7. seems like a fab idea! i think you should make some whipped cream cheese topping too, just to be ultra decadent. love this :)
    -meg
    @ http://www.clutzycooking.blogspot.com
    @ http://www.myscribblednotebook.blogspot.com

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  8. This is a very creative idea! I actually have never seen chocolate creme brulee, let alone red velvet chocolate creme brulee. Fabulous!

    I hear you on Matt going to SF without you. I'm shaking my head right now. You wouldn't believe it, but the farmer's markets are offering locally grown strawberries already!

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  9. Valentine's, torch..skimpy-wear...could be dangerous but worth for thus brulee!

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  10. and here i was, thinking i'd seen a red velvet version of every dessert imaginable! how creative of you!

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  11. I've never liked creme brulee--but I've never had it chocolate. Regular chocolate and this both sound delicious!

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  12. It looks amazing! Personally I think there are lots more things that can go wrong in a creme brulee than in a pannacotta, so I am so impressed that you nailed this straight away.

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  13. Good idea -- I would not have thought of red velvet creme brulee. Looks like it turned out for you too! I've only tried creme brulee and it was more of a liquid brulee than creme.

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  14. I'm with you. Big holidays are eat-ins for us too. I'd rather have my dollar go further in a quiet restaurant on any other day of the year. :)

    This is incredible. I wish I had taken a look before last night. I went with red velvet cupcakes. This is way better!

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  15. Looks delicious. Wish I was there...

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  16. Red Velvet scare me for a while after I first learned about it. but, it started to grow on me! This is the first time I've seen a creme brulée version; creative! =)

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  17. Just made this for Valentines! It turned out great, thanks so much for posting!

    http://i1171.photobucket.com/albums/r560/solson005/IMG_2856_zpse4ce1cc7.jpg

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