I was hesitant to share this idea at first. I mean, I swear I’ve seen it somewhere- either someone on TV made it or I’ve seen a recipe for it. It’s so simple, so easy, and yet so delicious, that when I made it up the second night in a row, I just knew I had to share it, because it truly is a limited edition type of treat. After all, fresh strawberry season only lasts so long, and that is the number one requirement of this uber-simple dish. You must have strawberries, freshly picked, which have never, ever seen the inside of a refrigerator.
So first, you grab yourself a ramekin. You could reach for one of those cute little four-ounce numbers, but trust me when I say that you want the biggest, single-serve oven-safe baking dish you have. My ramekins are eight-ounces- generous without appearing piggish at the same time.
Now get those strawberries that you just picked. Take the tops off, and then slice the berries into the ramekin. The smaller berries you can just cut in half. Fill your ramekin nicely with berries. Now get some light brown sugar. Just 1/2 a teaspoon will do. Toss the brown sugar with the berries so they are evenly coated- toss lightly now, these berries are very delicate. Now reach into your fridge and pull out that carton of whipping cream. Not pre-whipped cream, not half-and half, but good old-fashioned whipped cream. The kind that you bought because it is strawberry season, and you never know when you’ll want to whip some up for one thing or another. Take the cream and pour it over the berries. Let it fill in the cracks, fill the ramekin not quite all the way. You want a little room for the cream to bubble- and you really want the strawberries to be poking out of the top.
Then take another 1/2 teaspoon of light brown sugar, and sprinkle that over the top of the berries and cream. Turn on your broiler. I put my oven rack at the second slot from the top, which brought the ramekin about 2-inches from the broiler element. When the broiler is good and ready, slide your ramekin underneath. Now you’re going to let it bubble and boil and get all hot and toasty. Total, this should take about five minutes, so it will be ready fast- don’t walk away and do something that will take your attention away from the oven. When the brulee is ready, you should smell sugar just starting to get dark- a visual check should confirm that the sugar on the berries is just starting to darken up and be caramelized. Very carefully, using hot pads, take this out of the oven and let it rest for five more minutes.
Trust me when I say this decadent dessert encapsulates summer all by itself. The strawberries, brown sugar and cream come together to create this magic bowl of sweet summer goodness. The brown sugar deepens the caramel flavors from the broiling, and the cream picks up the essence of strawberries so well that when you get to the bottom of the dish, you’ll swear you are finishing up a bowl of the best melted strawberry ice cream ever. I also strongly suspect that when the peaches are ripe, extra juicy and ready, that swapping out berries for peaches will be a completely magical experience as well.