Banana Crme Brle

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For a perfectly creamy custard, line the baking pan with a kitchen towel, and then add the filled ramekins and boiling water. Ingredients:
2 ripe bananas 2 1/4 cups heavy cream 1/4 cup plus 8 tsp. sugar 4 egg yolks 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat

an

oven

to

300F.

Have

pot

of

boiling

water

ready.

Peel 1 of the bananas and cut in thirds. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the cream, cut banana and the 1/4 cup sugar. Cook, stirring, until steam rises, 4 to 5 minutes. Let stand 10 to 15 minutes.

In a bowl, beat the egg yolks and vanilla until blended. Strain the cream through a fine-mesh sieve set over a bowl; discard the cooked banana. Pour the cream into the yolks, a little at a time, stirring constantly until smooth; divide among four 6-oz. ramekins.

Line a 3-inch-deep baking pan with a kitchen towel, place the ramekins in the pan and add boiling water to fill the pan halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Cover loosely with foil and bake until set, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove the ramekins from the pan, cool to room temperature and refrigerate 2 to 3 hours.

Peel the remaining banana and slice crosswise into slices 1/8 inch thick. Arrange 7 or 8 slices over the top of each crme brle and sprinkle 2 tsp. sugar evenly over each surface. With a kitchen torch, move the flame continuously in small circles over the surface until the sugar melts and lightly browns. Serve immediately. Williams-Sonoma Kitchen.