Recipes and Cooking Ginger Crème Brûlée Be the first to rate & review! Small kitchen torches are great to use for caramelizing sugar for crème brûlées. But if you don't have one, you can still easily produce a melted-sugar topper. Caramelized sugar creates a hard, candylike layer over the custard. The contrast of textures is wonderful. By BHG Test Kitchen BHG Test Kitchen The Better Homes & Gardens Test Kitchen has been in continuous operation for nearly 100 years, developing and testing practical, reliable recipes that readers can enjoy at home. The Test Kitchen team includes culinary specialists, food stylists, registered and licensed nutritionists, and other experts with Bachelor of Science degrees in food science, food and nutrition, or culinary arts. Together, the team tests more than 2,500 recipes, produces more than 2,500 food images, and creates more than 1,000 food videos each year in the state-of-the-art test kitchen. Learn about BHG's Editorial Process Updated on November 8, 2012 Print Rate It Share Share Tweet Pin Email Prep Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 10 mins Bake Time: 35 mins Chill Time: 2 hrs Stand Time: 35 mins Total Time: 30 mins Servings: 4 Jump to Nutrition Facts Ingredients 1 ½ cup half-and-half or light cream ¼ cup sugar 1 2 inch piece fresh ginger, thinly sliced 4 egg yolks ½ teaspoon vanilla 4 teaspoon sugar or Caramelized Topper* Finely snipped crystallized ginger Caramelized Topper 2 tablespoon sugar Directions Preheat oven to 325°F. In a medium saucepan combine half-and-half, the 1/4 cup sugar, and the fresh ginger. Cook and stir over medium-low heat for 10 minutes (reduce heat as necessary to prevent boiling). Remove from heat. Cover and let stand for 15 minutes. Strain and discard fresh ginger. Place four 5- or 6-ounce ramekins or custard cups in an 8x8x2-inch baking pan; set aside. In a medium bowl whisk together egg yolks and vanilla. Gradually whisk in warm half-and-half mixture. Divide egg mixture among ramekins. Set baking pan on oven rack. Pour enough hot water into baking pan to reach halfway up sides of ramekins. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or just until custards are set in centers. Remove custards from the water; cool on a wire rack. Cover and chill for 2 to 24 hours. To serve, let custards stand at room temperature for 20 minutes. Sprinkle tops of custards with the 4 teaspoons sugar. Using a small handheld kitchen torch, slowly and evenly melt the sugar. (Or quickly drizzle Caramelized Topper over custards. Let stand for a few minutes or until set.) Sprinkle with crystallized ginger. Serve immediately. Caramelized Topper In an 8-inch skillet cook sugar over medium-high heat until sugar starts to melt, shaking skillet occasionally. Do not stir. When sugar starts to melt, reduce heat to low and cook about 5 minutes or until all of the sugar is melted, stirring as needed with a wooden spoon. Immediately drizzle over custards. *Tip: If you don't have a kitchen torch, prepare the Caramelized Topper instead. Rate it Print Nutrition Facts (per serving) 240 Calories 15g Fat 20g Carbs 5g Protein Show Full Nutrition Label Hide Full Nutrition Label Nutrition Facts Servings Per Recipe 4 Calories 240 % Daily Value * Total Fat 15g 19% Saturated Fat 8g 40% Cholesterol 246mg 82% Sodium 44mg 2% Total Carbohydrate 20g 7% Total Sugars 16g Protein 5g Potassium 133mg 3% *The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.