Crème brulée tart

La crème brûlée is the French close cousin of what we know as crema catalana. Softer, I would say, and with a delicious vanilla flavor, which makes it delightful. In this tart with a sweet almond base and crème brûlée as filling, you will enjoy it like never before.

I definitely invite you to make it, because it has no complications (and if you read the step by step you'll see I'm not lying). The only thing important to keep in mind when preparing it is that it's a tart to make over two days: the first day, you prepare the base, which will require resting overnight in the fridge. The second day, you can prepare the crème brûlée easily, fill the mold and bake.

I hope you enjoy this cream tart many times. Truth is, it's an ideal recipe to impress if you have guests, and it's widely enjoyed.

I highly recommend torching it lightly as a final step as shown in the recipe, but if someone prefers to enjoy the crème brûlée without torching you can omit that step and present the tart without the caramelized sugar layer (although, besides adding nuances in aroma and texture, torching also gives it an ideal look and finishes it off).

Perforated pastry ring and De Buyer perforated tray

Ingredients

For the dough

• 150 g butter
• 100 g icing sugar
• 60 g ground almonds
• 1 egg
• 1 pinch of salt
• 250 g flour

For the crème brûlée

• 250 ml liquid cream (18% fat)
• 150 ml milk
• 4 egg yolks
• 50 g sugar
• 1 vanilla pod
• Brown sugar for caramelizing (if you are going to torch it at the end)

Preparation

Dough preparation

1. In a food processor (if you don't have one, in a large bowl), beat the butter until softened to a cream consistency.
2. Add the icing sugar and ground almonds and mix.
3. Add the salt and the egg and continue mixing until you achieve a homogeneous consistency.
4. Add the flour and mix the minimum amount, just enough until it's incorporated.
5. Gather the dough into a ball, wrap it in cling film and leave it in the fridge for at least one hour.
6. After that time, remove it from the film and transfer it to a floured work surface. Roll it out using a rolling pin, giving it a circular shape (marble rolling pins work great for this type of dough, because they keep the dough colder longer).
7. Transfer the dough to the De Buyer perforated tin with removable base (or to a perforated tray, placing a perforated ring) previously greased. Lower the dough to the base and press it with your fingers against the sides of the mold (it should form a right angle between sides and base).
8. Leave the dough in the mold covered with cling film for at least one hour (ideally overnight!, until the next day).
9. Once rested, preheat the oven to 170 °C for 15 minutes.

Crème brûlée preparation

1. Pour the cream and milk into a saucepan, and heat over low heat.
2. Split the vanilla pod in half, remove the seeds with a knife and place both pod and seeds in the saucepan. Keep over very low heat for 3 minutes and then turn off the heat. Let the liquid infuse with the vanilla for 30 minutes. After that time, remove the pod and seeds with a skimmer (or strain it through a sieve and return the liquid to the saucepan).
3. Meanwhile, beat the egg yolks and the sugar.
4. After the 30 minutes of infusion, return the milk to the heat for just 1 minute, so it warms slightly, and pour over the egg yolk and sugar mixture. Mix vigorously until homogeneous. You will obtain a completely liquid mixture.

Filling and baking

1. Remove the mold with the sweet dough from the refrigerator.
2. Pour the crème brûlée over the dough, being careful not to splash, and from close up so the base remains solid and doesn't give way.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 50 minutes at 150 °C.
4. Remove from the oven when you see the crème brûlée set, and let the tart cool on a wire rack.
5. Sprinkle a generous amount of brown sugar (or white sugar if you prefer), and caramelize using a kitchen blowtorch.

NOTE: If you like, you can make the recipe in individual format: just divide the dough into small ramekins or individual rings, shape them and fill them with the crème brûlée mixture.