Ginger Crème Brulée

My custards took longer to cook than 1 hour. It will depend on how wide or deep your ramekin style is. Cook them until the centers barely move.

Ingredients
¹/₃ C sugar
4 egg yolks
2 C milk
2 T chopped crystallized ginger
½ tsp vanilla
¼ tsp salt
6 T sugar

Directions
Preheat oven to 325˚.

Place 6 4-ounce ramekins in a 9x13 baking dish.

Combine ¹/₃ C sugar and egg yolks, stirring well with whisk.

In a saucepan, combine milk and ginger. Heat over medium heat to 180˚ (just beginning to simmer; do not boil), stirring occasionally. Strain mixture through a sieve, discarding solids. Add vanilla and salt. Gradually add milk mixture to egg mixture, whisking constantly.

Divide mixture between 6 ramekins. Add hot water to baking dish to a depth of 1 inch, taking care not to drip or spill into custard filled ramekins.

Bake 1 hour or until center barely moves when ramekin is jiggled. Remove ramekins from pan, cool completely on wire rack. Cover; chill at least 4 hours.

Sift one tablespoon sugar to evenly cover cover each custard top. Using a kitchen torch about 2 inches from custard surface, "brulée" by moving torch back and forth until sugar is melted and caramelized (approx. 1 minute). Serve immediately, or within 1 hour.

If you don't have a kitchen torch...
Put 6 tablespoons of sugar and 1 tablespoon water in saucepan; cook, without stirring, over medium heat until sugar is golden (5-8 minutes). Immediately pour over cold custards, gently spreading if necessary to form a thin layer.