Although I'm a professional pastry chef I don't bake as scientificly as some so I can't give you exact details, so I leave that part of your question to someone else. Although I've read the reasoning behind bringing your cream up to a boil...I thought it wasen't necessary for pasturized creams (although I always do)??
But I do know these facts from making brulee very frequently...I always bring my milk up to a boil then temper it into my yolks, strain it, then place in my ramikins and bake in a hot water bath.
My personal tricks...
1.I never whip my yolks with sugar as some recipes advise, it's totally not necessary. 2.I also always put my sugar into my milk to dissolve instead of risking it burning my yolks.
From experience: it always takes longer to bake then every recipe I've ever read...about 1 hr(or longer) at 300 degrees for a 4" ramikin. Although recipes using chocolate set quicker.
I haven't ever made such a small batch as you posted but it might be short 1 yolk, but you definately didn't go wrong baking it longer and perhaps needed to continue baking even more.
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"Bakers are born, not made. We are exacting people who delight in submitting ourselves to rules and formulas if it means achieving repeatable perfection", Rose Levy Beranbaum |