Eggs from pasture-raised chickens key to crème brûlée

LAURA MORTELLITI

LAURA MORTELLITI

From the menu… White Oak Pastures Dining Pavilion, 22775 Highway 27, Bluffton. 229-641-2081. whiteoakpastures.com

I need the recipe for White Oak Pastures' crème brûlée. It's divine! Would you request it for me please?— M. Killingsworth, Edison

The folks at the farm’s dining pavilion were happy to share this recipe that takes full advantage of White Oak Pastures’ eggs.

When sending the recipe, they wrote, “The secret to a great crème brûlée is two-fold. One major key is all about the tempering, which ensures a smooth, creamy and velvety texture. The other key is to use eggs from pasture-raised chickens. If you want to make a great dish, start with great ingredients. Eggs from pasture-raised chickens have a lot more flavor and a rich colored yolk, which not only adds more flavor, but a little more richness and elegance as well.”

The trick about using a piece of plastic wrap to eliminate large bubbles is a bonus with this recipe.

They make their crème brûlée with 17 egg yolks. We tested the recipe with just 12. So it’s flexible. Add more yolks if you want a richer result.

The hard, caramelized sugar topping is the distinctive feature of a crème brûlée. Everyone enjoys cracking the top and adding a little piece of caramel to spoons full of the creamy custard. Many chefs use a hand-held torch to caramelize the sugar topping. Torches are available online and at cooking supply stores. If you don’t have one, you can use your broiler, being very careful to watch that the sugar caramelizes evenly and does not burn.