Lemon Creme Brûlée

So, I definitely prepared recipes in advance for y’all while I’m on maternity leave, but I didn’t exactly write the posts in advance. Writing thoughts before I have them, or ‘canned’ writing as I call it, just comes off as spacy. ‘I love this delicious recipe, you should make it blah blah blah.’ So not my style. I would never do that to you.

So, here I am, 4 days post-delivery of my sweet baby girl, writing to you. I love her more than anything, she’s perfect, blah blah blah, but you know this. I can’t say anything about motherhood that other mothers haven’t already said, but I can say that I have a strong opinions after carrying and delivery a child. Let me ramble, please.

1. After carrying a baby to full term, I no longer believe the TLC show ‘I didn’t know I was pregnant.’ Seriously. I used to watch the show in college, side with the mom, and think ‘wow, how scary is that?’ But no. Just no, no, no. There is no way you can carry a baby full-term and never think ‘hmm..is that a rumble in my tummy OR AN EIGHT POUND CHILD?’

2. I just instantly inherited approximately 6,000% more respect for all moms on the entire planet. Maybe they put it in the IV fluid, who knows? But, anytime I see a woman with kids of any age, I feel like we are instant best friends. Sure, I have a lot to learn—I’ve only been Mama for 4 days, but I want to be best friends with every other Mom ever. Let’s do lunch, everyone? Call me, fellow earth Mamas?

3. I really didn’t think I could do it. I took pregnancy one day at a time. I never sat around on month 6 and thought ‘what would delivery be like?’ because if I had done that, I would have required therapy. And rightfully so. I took every day, one at a time. I realized I did this to prevent myself from stressing out about the unknown. While I was massively pregnant and starting to get a few aches and pains, never did I think ‘hurry up and get here, labor!’ I was scared. If I thought about it, I might even admit to myself that I didn’t think I could do it. But, it’s crazy how things worked out for me. I told everyone I wanted a May baby. Not for any real reason (and certainly not so that I could have a beer on Cinco de Mayo, swears!), but I thought as long as the calendar said ‘April,’ the baby would never come. Labor started at 7 minutes past midnight on May 1st. She was here just after sunset. How crazy is that? Did I just will this baby into the world? Did I really go into labor all on my own?

Alright, clearly, the hormones are kicking in, and you deserve a medal for listening to me ramble. But maybe I could just give you a stellar recipe for lemon creme brûlée? I adore the simplicity of creme brûlée, and when I added lemon zest, it tastes like some kind of lemon Easter candy that I just can’t put my finger on. It’s sublime. You should totally make it for the Mama in your life.

Have a great Mother’s Day, ladies! And seriously, call me. I want to be best friends with all of you. And I could use some advice.

• 3 large egg yolks
• ½ cup heavy whipping cream
• ¼ cup sugar, plus 2 teaspoons
• zest from 1 small lemon

1. In a glass bowl, whisk together egg yolks, cream, ¼ cup sugar and lemon zest.
2. Pour into the ramekins. Place the ramekins in a 8 or 9" square glass baking dish. Make a water bath for them to cook in by pouring 2 cups of very hot water into the dish, or enough to come up about ½" on the sides of the ramekins.
3. Bake at 300° for 40-50 minutes. The custards are done when only the middle is slightly jiggly.
4. Cool the custards in the water bath, then cover them with plastic wrap before moving them to the fridge for at least 8 hours.
5. When ready to caramelize the sugar with a kitchen torch, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of sugar over each custard. Melt the sugar with the torch until it is browned and hard. Serve immediately.