Chocolate Sprinkled Creme Brulee

My husband just got back from his trip from Haiti from where he lived on rice and beans all week, and was ready for a real meal. So, we had his favorite, shrimp pasta, garlic bread and of course we had to finish off with a great dessert. This is one of his favorite...Chocolate Sprinkled Creme Brulee. I have said this before that I love Gale Gand and this recipe is from her book Butter, Sugar, Flour, Eggs. I have all of her books, except for her first and I am still looking for it. Every thing that I have made from her books and been wonderful. This recipe is really simple and quick to put together. My favorite thing to do with these desserts is to caramelize the tops with sugar with my little kitchen torch. I never realized how much fun it is to play with fire in the kitchen! :) It calls for 8 egg yolks, which leave all of the egg whites, so maybe I will try my hand at macarons with the left over egg whites.

Chocolate Sprinkled Creme Brulee

2 1/3 cups heavy cream
1/3 cup half and half
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
8 egg yolks
1/2 cup granulated sugar
4 tsp shaved bittersweet or semisweet chocolate
1/2 cup coarse, raw, or Demera sugar (I used left over vanilla sugar)

Heat the oven to 300 degrees.

Heat the cream, half and half, and vanilla bean in a saucepan over medium heat just until it comes to a boil. Immediately turn off the heat. Set aside to infuse for 10 minutes.

Whisk the egg yolks with the granulated sugar in a large bowl just until combined. Whisking constantly, gradually pour in the hot cream mixture. Strain the mixture into a pitcher to smooth it and to remove the vanilla bean.

Pour the mixture into 4-6 ovenproof ramekins and arrange in a hot-water bath. Sprinkle the custards with the chocolate shavings. Bake in the center of the oven until almost set but still jiggly in the center, 30-40 minutes. (The custard will finish cooking as it cools) Remove from the water bath and let set 15 minutes. Tightly cover each ramekin with plastic wrap, making sure the plastic does not touch the surface of the custard.

Refrigerate at least 2 hours or until ready to serve.

When ready to serve, preheat a broiler to very hot (or fire up your kitchen torch). Uncover the custards. Coat the top of each custard completely with an even layer of coarse sugar.

Place the ramekins on a baking sheet and boil until the sugar is melted and well browned, about 2 minutes. Let cool 1 minute before serving.