Creme Brulee
Crème brûlée is a dessert consisting of a rich custard base topped with a layer of hard caramel, created by burning sugar under a salamander or other intense heat source. It is usually served cold in individual ramekins. The custard base is normally flavored with just vanilla, but it can be flavoured in a number of ways, with chocolate, liqueur, fruit etc.
It is first attested in France, in Massialot's cookbook, in 1691. The French name was used in the English translation of this book, but in the early 18th century, it was called 'burnt cream' in English. In Britain, it is associated with Trinity College, Cambridge, where it is called 'caramel cream' and where the college crest was impressed on top of the cream with a branding iron. It was introduced to Trinity College in 1879, though some cookbooks claim a much older origin. Indeed, an increasing number of culinary historians now maintain that Massiolot's cookbook is a nineteenth century forgery and the dessert was invented in Trinity College, Cambridge towards the beginning of the eighteenth century.
