4 cups heavy cream
1 tbl spoon orange zest
2 whole vanilla beans
12 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
preheat oven to 325
Split vanilla beans and scape seeds into the cream. Place pods into the cream also. Mix orange zest into cream. Bring mixture to a low boil.
Mix egg yolks and sugar together until the sugar is dissolved.
Once the cream mixture has reached a boil, temper the egg mixture by adding the cream little by little, whisking the entire time.
Once mixed, pour the mixture through a strainer and into a pitcher or large measuring cup to remove the vanilla bean pods and any excess foam.
Fill oven safe ramekins about 3/4 of the way with the mixture. Place the ramekins into a casserole dish and fill about 1/2 way with very hot water.
Bake for about 25 to 28 minutes until the creme brulee has a slight jiggle to it. You don’t want a very liquid jiggle, more like gelatin.
Remove from the water bath and cool the creme brulees on the counter for about 15 min before placing in the refrigerator for 4 to 6 hours.
When ready to serve, coat the top of the creme brulee with sugar. Use a kitchen torch to melt the sugar. Allow minute or so for the melted sugar to harden. Serve immediately!
