This weekend’s menu included ribs, home made barbeque sauce, and even paella. And to finish it up…. sweet, salty, smooth crunchiness.

Creme Brulee Tarts

Creme Brulee Tarts

Ingredients:
1 sheet Pillsbury Crescent Recipe Creations
3 eggs plus 1 egg white
1/3 cup + 3 TB sugar
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 vanilla bean, split, inside scraped

Method:
1. Heat oven to 400. Roll out dough on a flat surface. Cut out 6 – 3 inch circles* and press against the inside of a muffin tin or miniature brioche tarts. Bake for 15 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool off for 5 minutes. Brush with egg white, return to the oven for an additional 2 minutes. Remove from the oven, place in a cooling rack, and after 5 minutes remove from the molds.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk egg yolks. Set aside.
3. In a medium sauce pan, bring the whipping cream, 1/3 cup sugar, vanilla bean and pod to a slow simmer. Stir to dissolve the sugar.
4. Remove cream mixture and add 1/4 cup to the egg mixture. Add in a slow stream while whisking. This process is called tempering and allows the egg mixture to reach the temperature of the cream without cooking the egg.
5. Now add the egg/cream mixture, to the saucepan with the remaining cream mixture, and return to the stove.
6. Continue stirring until the mixture coats the back of a spoon, or it reaches 160 degrees.
7. Pour the egg mixture in the tart shells baked on step 1. Let them cool off to room temperature, and then put in the fridge for at least one hour.
8. Sprinkle the top of the tarts with sugar, and place under the hot broiler for a few minutes, or caramelize using a small torch.

* Anything from a large biscuit cutter to a glass will do the trick to cut these circles. This time I used small ramekins.