Thrill to grill? Interested in anything that smokes? Well, then: Do you own a kitchen torch yet?
If you don’t, consider what you’re missing out on: It’s fun, it’s chic, it’s super-easy to use, and it can land you in enviably delightful lands like Baked Alaska and crème brulée-ville. We’ve spent many happy hours discovering a multitude of creative ways to use this multi-faceted kitchen tool, but these few great recipes always seem to rise to the top when it comes to relishing in the expert application of a good kitchen torch.
Here are five recipes to help you get the most from your fab new gadget, whether you’re torching meringues or melting cheese (for the fastest grilled cheese of all time!)
1. S’Mores Pie
Blow a kid (or grown kid)’s mind today: Make them s’mores pie. If they’re not already stoked when they see it, you know they’ll go nuts when you tell them its name. The best thing about kitchen torches, if we’re being honest with you, is that they make everything they touch look so fancy, and like you spent hours working on it. But you didn’t, and the proof is in that food-processed graham cracker crust. We’re talking 30-minute prep time, friend.
2. Crème Brûlée with Blood Orange
Not to be left out of the “who’s the fanciest?!” competition, here comes crème brûlée with blood oranges. This recipe features a mere 15 minutes of prep. You get that gorgeous look thanks to a sprinkling of turbinado sugar after your dessert cooks in a water bath. There’s arguably nothing more satisfying in the world of sweets than cracking the top of a crème brûlée with your spoon.
3. Candied Pear Tart with Pistachios
Naturally sweet, all-season pears take center stage in this beautiful, open-face galette. By sprinkling the pears with an ample dusting of sugar then caramelizing them to a crisp, nutty brown, the galette takes on a memorable mix of moist (the pears!) and crispy (the sugar!), flaky (the pastry!) and crunchy (the nuts!).
4. Lemon Curd Meringue Pie
Unless you’re the sort of person who goes from zero to Baked Alaska in your baking attempts, the reason you own a torch might be because you were ensorcelled by a lemon curd meringue pie. (Hey, it’s happened to the best of us.) Just the topography of a meringue pie is alluring. Those Himalayan peaks and valleys! Those lava-like curlicues! Find us the person who doesn’t involuntarily issue a happy sigh when one of these lands in front of her.
5. Zöe’s Hot Chocolate Layer Cake
Zoë François is the mastermind behind Zöe’s hot chocolate layer cake, and you should snag her cookbook to get the recipe. But you can also brûlée any type of marshmallow. (We recommend fat, delicious, homemade ones.) Then plop them on top of your favorite chocolate cake. Dig in. Thanks, kitchen torch.