Butter Pecan Creme Brulee

This creme brulee is so good that awesome boyfriend and I got into a fight over the last cup!  We ended up going halvsies on the creme brulee and a low carb peanut butter cookie, but it got ugly there for a minute.

Ingredients
2 C heavy whipping cream
4 egg yolks
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt (any kind)
2 Tbsp Splenda (if you like a really sweet dessert you can add a little more)

Ingredients for Butter Pecan topping
1 Tbsp butter
1/4 C chopped pecans
1/2 tsp Splenda

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  
2. In a saucepan heat cream over medium high until little bubbles start to form on the surface.  Be careful not to scald.  
3. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.  
4. In a bowl, whisk together egg yolks, vanilla, salt, and Splenda.  
5. Slowly whisk in cream.  Cream should still be warm, but no longer bubbling.  
6. Strain mixture through a fine colander or sieve.  Don't skip this step!  You need to strain to catch any larger pieces of egg that are still in the mixture.  
7. Divide mixture into four small oven safe cups. (I have some Pyrex ones that are awesome!)
8. Place custard cups on a baking sheet or baking dish.  
9. Add hot water to baking dish.  Water should be about one inch deep.  
10. Bake for 25-30 minutes.  Custards should be set, but still jiggly, and slightly browned on top.  
11. Chill for one hour.  

Directions for Butter Pecan topping

1. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.  
2. Stir in pecans and Splenda.  
3. Continue to heat until nuts begin to color.  
4. Butter Pecan topping should be spooned warm on top of custards just before serving.  (Yum!)

Each creme brulee with topping will have about 6 carbs.  If you want to cut the carb count down to 5, use only half of the pecans.

Make sure to keep stir cream occasionally while it heats.  Otherwise
it might scald.  You're not trying to bring it to a boil, just warm it.  

Slowly whisk the hot cream into the egg mixture.  

I love these little oven proof cups.  They came with lids, so they are great
for keeping things in the fridge.  

Just came out of the oven.  Ready to go into the fridge for an hour.  

Butter pecan topping bubbling away.  When it looks like this it is ready.  

To serve, creme brulee should be cool from the fridge, and butter pecan
topping should still be warm.  Serve quickly so that the butter does not
start to harden on the surface of the desserts.