4 egg yolks at room temperature

¾ cup sugar, divided

1½ cups heavy cream, divided

1 Tbsp instant coffee

½ tsp vanilla extract

1 cup finely crushed chocolate-covered espresso beans (optional)

Preheat oven to 300 F. In a large bowl, beat egg yolks and 6 Tbsp sugar with a whisk for 1 minute until smooth. In a medium bowl, combine coffee and ½ cup heavy cream. Whisk until smooth, then add remaining heavy cream and whisk until well blended. Add coffee/cream mixture and vanilla to egg yolks and gently fold together with a rubber spatula. Use a ladle to pour mixture into four individual ramekins filled ¾ of the way to the top. Place ramekins in a roasting pan and pour water into the pan (around the ramekins, not into them) or until it reaches halfway up the side of the ramekins. Bake for 40-50 minutes until the brulee jiggles slightly when you shake the pan. Adjust baking time as necessary to ensure creme brulees are sufficiently set up. Remove pan from the oven and allow the heat of the water to finish the cooking process. Allow ramekins to sit for 20-30 minutes until cooled and fully solidified. Sprinkle 1½ Tbsp of sugar over each brulee, then use a small culinary torch to caramelize the sugar.

Note: If you don’t have a culinary torch, you can also caramelize the sugar by placing the roasting pan just under your oven’s broiler, but watch closely to prevent scorching. You can also add a little extra coffee flavor as well as crunch by allowing the caramelized sugar to cool then sprinkling each brulee with ¼ cup of chocolate-covered espresso beans that have been finely crushed.

Recipe courtesy of Laura Garza, Beech Grove