White Chocolate Creme Brulee

This is pre-caramelized sugar awesomeness

So I’m a very firm believer in that Christmas season does not and CANNOT begin until AFTER Thanksgiving.  You hear that upstairs neighbor blaring the Glee Christmas Album for the past 2 weeks? Now I can allow it (at a reasonable volume between the hours of 9 and 11). ((10 points if you got that movie reference)).

So now that Turkey Day has come and passed, we can start planning for our Christmas parties.  I really want to host a pseudo-swanky shin-dig this year.  Like a legit dinner party with snazzy appetizers and sparkling cocktails and people get a bit dressed up and just have a good time.  Sounds like all sorts of holiday magic, right?  Of course the night will end in a riveting game of Cranium, but who doesn’t love that? 

But one of my biggest worries when I have people over is making sure all the food is hot and ready on time.  It’s a total stress reliever when anything can be done ahead of time.  Here’s where this fantastic dessert comes into play.

1)      It looks totally fancy and classy- perfect for parties.

2)      Who doesn’t love something that comes in your own little personal ramekin. 

3)      It’s super simple and can be done HOURS ahead time.  Actually, it has to because it needs time to cool in the fridge. 

Added plus, it’s dairy-free.  You’ll be your lactose-intolerant’s friend favorite host.  And even if you aren’t dairy-adverse, you’ll never miss the crème.  The white chocolate more than enough makes up for it.

Adapted from this recipe

What You’ll Need:

• 4 Egg Yolks
• 1/3 cup Sugar
• 2 cups Coconut Milk
• 4 oz White Chocolate, chopped
• ½ tsp Vanilla Extract
• 4 tsp Sugar

What To Do:

1. Preheat oven to 300F.  In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks and 1/3 cup sugar until smooth.  In a medium sauce pan, bring the coconut milk to a simmer over medium heat and add white chocolate.  Turn off heat and whisk until all the chocolate has melted. 
2. Add just 2 Tbsp of the coconut milk mixture and whisk constantly to prevent the eggs from scrambling.  Then add the remaining milk/chocolate mixture to the egg yolks and whisk until smooth. Add vanilla.
3. Pour into ramekins and place in a 9x13 baking dish.  Add hot water to the dish so that the ramekins sit in about 1 ½ inches of water.  Bake until set , about 45 minutes.  Then transfer to fridge to cool until chilled (at least 2 hours). 
4. When ready to serve, preheat broiler and sprinkle the top of each ramekin with a tsp of sugar.  Place under broiler to caramelize and then allow to cool in the fridge until they can be handled comfortably.
   

   

   Post broiler- via my phone's camera due to battery crap outage