The presence of a culinary torch in a kitchen is the sign of a truly accomplished home cook. It’s a must-have for making perfect crème brulee, but it can also be used for so much more if you think outside the box.
Butane torches are frequently employed as kitchen gadgets to caramelize sugar in cooking, such as when making crème brûlée. They may be marketed as kitchen torches, cooking torches, or culinary torches.
Make a Tuna Melt or Patty Melt
If you don’t have a toaster oven and don’t want to turn on the broiler of your oven, you can still make a tuna melt or salmon melt. Assemble the melt, then use the culinary torch to melt the cheese on top until it bubbles. Hold it a little further away until the cheese melts, then bring it in closer to make the cheese brown and bubble.
Brown the Topping on Mac and Cheese
If you don’t have time to make macaroni and cheese in the oven, you can still fake the crispy, oven-baked crust with a culinary torch. Try this easy recipe: combine two parts whole milk and two parts elbow macaroni in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low, and cook until the macaroni is cooked through but still firm to the bite, about 10 to 12 minutes. Turn off heat but leave on the burner and stir in 1 part grated sharp cheddar cheese and 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard per cup of cheddar cheese. Add more milk if needed to achieve a creamy consistency and season to taste with salt and cayenne pepper. Spoon into bowls, sprinkle lightly with breadcrumbs, and brown the breadcrumbs with a culinary torch until the cheese bubbles and the breadcrumbs are lightly browned.
Mastering the Basics How to Torch a Creme Brulee
FAQ
What kind of torch do you use for crème brûlée?
What device for crème brûlée?
What is it called when you torch a dessert?
What can I use instead of a brulee torch?
Which is your favorite crème brûlée torch?
Before we begin: if you just want the quick answer as to which is our favorite crème brûlée torch, it’s the EurKitchen Culinary Cooking Butane Torch. We love its power, endurance, safety features, and gas gauge! What’s crème brûlée without the brûlée?!
How do you torch a crème brûlée?
Torch the crème brûlées! Working one at a time, slowly and steadily move the flame from the torch back and forth over the entire surface of the dessert. As the top starts to caramelize, you’ll be able to see which areas are finishing faster and which need more attention.
Which butane torches should I use for crème brûlée?
This is particularly true of butane torches, which are our recommendation for crème brûlée and similar uses. If you’re not sure where to start, we love (and personally use) the EurKitchen Culinary Cooking Butane Torch, which offers a great balance of features for value.
What is crème brûlée & how do you make it?
Crème brûlée is a French dessert that literally means “scorched cream.” The chilled custard dessert has a sugar topping that is caramelized using a culinary torch, which is a mini blowtorch. If you do not have a blowtorch handy to torch crème brûlée, you can place the crème brûlée under a broiler.