Dessert a la Welding Torch Can Add Excitement, Not to Mention Taste, to Meal

Carrying a torch for a dessert doesn’t normally have the same emotional impact as carrying one for an old flame--unless that dessert is Paul Ghaffari’s creme brulee.

He says you really do need a small hand torch to properly prepare this quite elegant and most delicate dish, an absolute show-stopper for a holiday meal.

Creme brulee (pronounced brew-lay) was one of the menu favorites when Ghaffari, 42, was operating his restaurant in Dana Point and will most likely attain the same status when he opens a new restaurant in Laguna Beach early next year.

It is a rich mixture of heavy cream, egg yolks, vanilla extract and sugar with a brittle seal of glazed sugar on top. When glazed with the torch, the top’s texture and taste is that of the crisp center of a Heath candy bar. Breaking through this shell to get to the custard mixed with fresh raspberries is like opening a Christmas present.

“The few restaurants that do serve brulee normally stick it under the broiler,” Ghaffari says, “and the heat changes the texture of the custard; sometimes it can even curdle it. It’s just not the same dish.”

When pressed, he will admit that an alternative is pouring warm cognac over the sugar and lighting it with a match. The problem is controlling the burn and the residual flavor of the cognac.

The answer is a small soldering or welding torch available at any hardware store.

Ghaffari’s interest in cooking goes back to his childhood in Iran and the dishes his mother prepared. That interest was heightened, nurtured--and matured--during his college days. He worked his way through Cal State Fullerton in various aspects of the restaurant business.

He started as a busboy at a Denny’s. By the time he earned his master’s in business administration, he was general manager of one of the larger Velvet Turtles. In between, he had worked as a cook, bartender and chef.

PAUL GHAFFARI’S CREME BRULEE WITH RASPBERRIES

Ingredients

10 egg yolks

1 quart heavy (whipping) cream

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

7 tablespoons sugar

1 pint fresh raspberries

Mint leaves for garnish

Preparation

In bowl, beat egg yolks and then beat in 3 tablespoons of the sugar. Over medium heat and in heavy saucepan, bring cream to boil, stirring constantly. While stirring yolk-sugar mixture with one hand, slowly add two ladles of hot cream to mixture. Then, slowly add yolk mixture to cream, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and stir-cook for 1 minute. Pour mixture into cold saucepan. Fold in raspberries, then fill eight custard dishes. Chill for several hours. For glaze, sprinkle 1/2 tablespoon of sugar on top of each dish, caramelize with torch and garnish with sprig of fresh mint. (Serves eight.)