Creme Brulee

Creme Brulee: Creamy, Decadent and … Healthy??

by Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist on November 6, 2012

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It’s Friday afternoon. You’ve just looked at the calendar and suddenly realized that your good friends of many years are coming over to dinner and they are (gasp) vegetarian!
No worries. Just serve a nice veggie stir fry cooked in ghee or expeller pressed coconut oil and whip up creme brulee for dessert. You won’t miss having meat with the main meal at all because creme brulee is loaded with healthy fats that will satiate you and your guests completely without an overload of sugar that will leave you groggy the next morning.

Even better, you can use up that quart of raw cream in the back of the fridge that is just a bit too sour to use for making ice cream!
Creme Brulee made the traditional way with full fat cream and loads of egg yolks is nothing short of creamy decadence, but you can serve it knowing that it is a very healthy ending to your dinner party too.
How so?
Egg yolks and the butterfat in cream are high in the important omega 6 fat called arachidonic acid. Liver and butter also contain significant amounts. Ironic but true: Westerners who are so inflammation ridden from the excessive omega 6 fats in their diet from the rancid vegetable oils in processed foods are actually typically deficient in arachidonic acid – possibly the most critical omega 6 fat of them all!
11% of the brain is composed of this vital fatty acid which is also of great importance for healthy, beautiful and sag-resistant skin as it ensures strong cell to cell junctures. Arachidonic acid is also critical for proper development and maintenance of the intestinal tract.
So eat up and enjoy that decadent creme brulee and don’t dare even think about using egg replacer or fake cream in this recipe!

Creme Brulee

Serves 8
Ingredients
1 quart heavy, soured raw cream
8 medium egg yolks
1/2 cup sucanat or coconut sugar (where to source)
1 Tbl vanilla extract
8 tsp sucanat or coconut sugar (where to source)
Instructions
Heat cream gently with vanilla but do not let it boil. Beat egg yolks with Rapadura or Sucanat until smooth and well blended. Beat vanilla and hot cream into yolk mixture.
Pour into 8 4-inch ramekins (about 3/4 cup per ramekin). Set dishes in very shallow pans of warm water. Bake 45-60 minutes in a 300-degree oven until custard sets and forms a a crust on top.
Let custards cool, cover lightly with waxed paper and chill 4 hours in the refrigerator. To serve, sprinkle 1 rounded teaspoon Rapadura or Sucanat over the top of each. Place under the broiler until the sugar melts, being careful not to burn (it melts very quickly!). Let the casseroles cool and then return to refrigerator until melted sugar forms a crust. Serve very cold.
What to do with all the leftover egg whites from making this fabulous dish? Click here for an easy high protein cookie recipe complete with video how-to!