'Burnt Cream' doesn't sound particularly appetising, which explains why this classic dessert prefers to be known in French translation, despite considerable evidence that we can claim it for our own. In this way, it mirrors the fate of ordinary custard, which must go by the francophone 'crime anglaise' in order to distinguish itself from the mainstream corn flour derivative. Although it is possible to caremelise the sugar with a powerful grill, a blowtorch is really the only extra tool the average cook needs to knock up this dessert in minutes.
You will need, a bowl, a whisk, six egg yolks, 4oz/200g sugar, half a pint/500ml thick cream, and the extracted innards of half a vanilla pod. You will also need a fridge and a microwave. Lets deal with that elephant in the room. There is a lot of anti-microwave snobbery out there, the reason for which is simple to explain. Like a television, which it superficially resembles, ninety nine per cent of its output is absolute garbage. The microwave itself however, is no more to blame for the Rustlers Burger than TV is to blame for Top Gear, it simply makes cold things hot, which is what we're after here.
Start by beating the yolks, sugar and vanilla gubbins until thoroughly incorporated, now add the cream and give a good thwacking so that all is combined. Now insert the bowl into your microwave, and ping it at full power in one minute, then at thirty second intervals until the magic happens. Resist the urge to keep stirring, and watch as the custard thickens and then, when the egg yolk can take no more, splits and creates what looks like very runny scrambled eggs. At this point, take your whisk, and beat wildly until homogenisation is once more acheived. If you have a hand blender, this can be acheived with a few seconds of zuzzing. And that's it. Pop the finished custard into ramekins/ teacups/ eggcups or whatever you have to hand, and fridge for a couple of hours. The result is a perfectly smooth, evenly set creme that is superior to the potentially overcooked and uneven results of the traditional water bath method. Top with white sugar and a couple of drops of water to aid the caramelisation, and shoot fire at the top until it melts, browns and sets. Now whack the sugar with the back of your spoon, and savour the sensation of hard bitter sugar and soft custard, and the self satisfaction that you did it so easily.
