"On our honeymoon in Hawaii, my husband and I enjoyed dinner at Princeville Resort's La Cascata restaurant on Kauai's north shore," writes Jamie Smietan of Rancho Santa Margarita, California. "I tried the crème brûlée which had a rich coffee flavor. A copy of the recipe would be the perfect souvenir."
Begin preparing this a day before you plan to serve it. The sugar is caramelized quickly under the broiler, but a small blowtorch (made for the kitchen) would work well, too.
Recipe information
Yield
Makes 8 servings
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Place eight 3/4-cup custard cups in large roasting pan. Combine cream, 1 cup sugar, ground espresso beans, instant espresso powder and cinnamon stick in heavy large saucepan. Using small sharp knife, scrape seeds from vanilla bean into mixture; add bean. Bring to boil, stirring until sugar and espresso powder dissolve. Remove from heat. Cover; let stand 30 minutes. Strain through fine sieve.
Step 2
Preheat oven to 325°F. Whisk egg yolks and egg in large bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in cream mixture. Divide among custard cups in pan. Pour enough hot water into roasting pan to come halfway up sides of custard cups. Bake custards until center moves only slightly when cups are gently shaken, about 55 minutes. Remove custards from pan. Cool; refrigerate uncovered overnight.
Step 3
Preheat broiler. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon sugar over each custard. Place custard cups on baking sheet. Broil until sugar is brown and caramelized, rotating baking sheet to broil evenly and watching closely to avoid burning, 1 to 2 minutes. Chill custards 1 hour. Serve.
