creme brulee won't set up

[Blueicus]

You're not making a meringue nor are you trying to get the eggs to a ribbony consistency so adding the sugar to the milk should have no real difference to adding the sugar to the eggs (I do it the first way too ). However, it would not be the first time I'm wrong if it weren't the case .

[bhaskar_adeeb]

best way is to beat the eggs with sugar till ribbon stage....temper with hot cream and pour back the mixture to the cream....cook the custard till holds on th back on the spoon and bake at 130 Deg C for 45 mts on a water batch. (add vanilla and lime zest in the yolks)

[HotChef]

the recipe looks fine to me. and you were using it all the time so it IS ok.
but the mix has to coagulate. and it does only at a certain temperature. no if's or but's. it does not matter if you whip the crean, stir the eggs, or shake the sugar....
and if you use a big sheet pan that covers the baking 'area' completely, yo u will have very little top heat. and , just maybe' try to bake the creme brulee longer?
and the best advise of course: check the temperature. electric heats from the top and bottom, gas only from the bottom.
it will work out after a few tries and errors.
happy cooking!

[Nick.Shu]

a trick i use for brulees, which seems to work all of the time, is to leave 4 egg whites in the mix per 30 egg yolks. The protein in the whites help the custard to set, and at the level that they are in the mix, are virtually undetectable.

Another reason why the mixture may be slow in cooking, could be that the water level in the bain marie might be too high. Try less water in the bain (i.e. water up to half way of the ramikin)

Good luck.

[TheMurrmaid]

We always used our leftover egg whites to make financier for mignardise.

The place I'm at now uses leftover brulee mix and/or "scraps" in a tart filling. It's almond cream-esque.

Incidentally, I agree with the oven theory as to why your brulee aren't setting. Since you're mixing everything cold a few setting issues are avoided, and if the recipe has worked for you in the past I can't imagine what other factors might be interfering. Have you changed vendors for your cream? There might be additives that weren't in what you were using before or vice versa (we had a similar issue with cream cheese in a tart filling). Ditto eggs if you are using Easy Eggs.