Hazelnut Crème

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spread hazelnuts evenly on a cookie sheet and place into oven until light brown. About 8 minutes. Lower oven temperature to 285 degrees.

Once cooled, combine hazelnuts, cream, and milk into a sauce pot and bring to a simmer. Do not boil. Remove pot from heat and cover to let the hazelnut flavor develop.

In a large mixing bowl, combine one cup of sugar, the whole eggs, and egg yolks and whisk until they become a pale yellow and sugar looks dissolved.

While the cream is still warm, strain it into a vessel with which you are comfortable pouring from, you will no longer need the hazelnuts. While whisking your egg mixture quickly, slowly add the warm cream.

Once the cream and eggs are combined, pour into one or more small ceramic baking dishes. Place these dishes into a large baking dish, then fill the baking dish with warm water to cover halfway up the ceramic dish.  Put into the oven and bake until the center no longer jiggles and a toothpick inserted to the center comes out clean.

If desired, you may cover the custard with sugar and toast it with the broil function on your oven or with a blow torch to create a crème brulee effect.

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