Crème brûlée also
known as burnt cream, crema catalana, or Trinity cream is a dessert
consisting of a rich custard base topped with a contrasting layer of
hard caramel. It is normally served at room temperature.
The earliest
known reference to crème brûlée as it is known today appears in
François Massialot's 1691 cookbook, and the French name was used in
the English translation of this book, but the 1731 edition of
Massialot's Cuisinier roial et bourgeoischanged the name of the same
recipe from "crème brûlée" to "crème anglaise".
In the early eighteenth century, the dessert was called "burnt
cream" in English.
