For Christmas like two years back I got a kitchen torch from Bob, and I just never got around to using it. Hence why I have this blog. Life always seems to get in the way of all the things I want to do, and torching a Creme Brulee was definitely one of those things. So I set out to make one!

It was a surprisingly simple bake. I made it in one attempt on a lazy Sunday morning. The only hitch I ran into was when I went to grab my fancy kitchen torch from the cupboard and realized the instruction manual explaining how to fuel it wasn’t in the box.

I was awkwardly left with one step left to finish my Brulees (top with sugar and torch), and sadly I had no idea how to actually do it. So I headed out to Ace Hardware hoping someone could help me fill up this dangerous device with highly flammable fuel.

I was directed to the butane/propane section, but I still unfortunately didn’t know how to get the fuel into my torch canister. I was stumped. That is until one of the employees directed me to this spry old man who was eager to walk me through the process (especially once he heard I was making dessert.) I had lots of questions, the first one being “Is it going to explode if I fill it up too much?” He assured me that it definitely wouldn’t and that there were a few ways to tell how much fuel is in it. He then grabbed the butane and went to insert the nozzle into the canister, when both I and the man next to me took a cautious step backward expecting the worst. The old man caught our movement out of the corner of his eye, tossed his head back and roared with laughter.

Thankfully nothing exploded, and I owe this brave Ace Hardware employee (who quite literally laughed in the face of danger) some Crem Brulee for insuring that it didn’t.

This recipe was in my recipe book from like eight years back. I have no idea where it came from, but from what I could find online it seems like a pretty basic recipe. Also, if you have any trepidation using a kitchen torch just turn on your broiler for a few minutes.