French Silk Pie

Servings: 8

6 Large Egg Yolks
2 Large eggs
3/4 c Granulated sugar
1 Pinch of salt
1 1/2 c Milk
2 3/4 c Heavy whipping cream
1 oz Ginger Root, rough chop
6 1/2 T Superfine sugar

The trick to producing a good brulee is simply to have a rich, ultra
smooth custard and then to melt the sugar on top of it into an
icerink-hard, paper thin caramel without melting the custard. If you do
not have a crème brulee iron or a very hot broiler, put the custards in a pan of ice water to keep them firm while you broil the sugar.

Preheat the oven to 300F deg. Put the egg yolks, eggs, granulated
sugar and salt in a stainless steel bowl. Whisk the mixture together.
Pour the milk and the cream into a heavy bottom saucepan. Add the
ginger and scald the mixture. slowly whisk it into the egg mixture. Cool
the custard base and strain it through a medium-hole strainer. Pour the custard into eight 6 ounce ovenproof ramekins*. Skim off any air bubbles.

Put the ramekins in an ovenproof pan and put it in the oven. Fill the
pan one third to one half full of hot water. Cover the pan with aluminum
foil and bake the custards for about 50 minutes. When the custards are gently shaken, they will be set around the edges, yet have a quarter size spot in the middle that will not be completely firm. Refrigerate several hours or overnight.

When ready to serve, preheat the broiler until it is very hot. Sprinkle the superfine sugar over the ginger custards. Place the custards
approximately 3 inches from the broiler. Broil until the sugar is caramelized. Let the sugar harden for a couple of minutes then serve.

*ramekins are cup sized bowls for cooking.