Creme brulee with poached pear

Creme brulee revisited! The first time I made this was 2 years ago of which, I didn't have proper kitchen utensils to use and some friends found it a little egg-y for their liking. I've compared more recipes this time but am still not so sure about the texture and flavour=/

My secret ingredient~vanilla flavoured castor sugar! I've "fermented" this for 2 years already and it has a super strong vanilla fragrance hehe^^

The expensive ingredient~ 2 vanilla bean pods costs almost aud$10 while the better quality ones cost around aud$15-.- Maybe I should grow a vanilla tree?O.o

Minimal amounts of sugar added (and also because I don't have enough vanilla sugar and ramekins to make more hehe)


Vanilla pod abused~ remove all visible vanilla beans!:)

Add vanilla beans to thicken cream and heat it~

Poached pear ingredients~ surprisingly, I didnt need that many ingredients but to make more refined versions, alcohol use is encouraged. hmm...

Demerara sugar, cinnamon stick, vanilla extract and boiling water~syrup base!:D

Poach pears in syrup and allow to simmer for 20 mins~

Tadaaaa~ it tasted awesome and wasn't too sweet hehe^^

The post-baked creme brulee~

Lesson 1#: use boiling water to fill the baking tray, not plain water-.- lmao
Lesson 2#: ALWAYS remove bubbles from the custard otherwise you'll end up with "pimple scars" on the brulee
Lesson 3#: be patient! These need to be refridgerated before eating otherwise it'll have a very runny texture

My dinner for the night~ steamed herbal chicken! Not bad, not bad:p

The finished creme brulee product with caramelized sugar layer~ lesson 4? Don't be lazy otherwise you'll end up with an uneven sugar surface and hence, an uneven molten layer.

Am not too sure what's next on my to-make list but will have to wait till I get back from melb hehe:) I'm still trying to figure how to remove creme brulee from the ramekin without messing it up. Any ideas?