1. Preheat the oven to 300 and arrange 4 4 oz. ramekins in a baking pan large enough to hold a water bath up to halfway up the ramekins. 2. In a small saucepan over low heat (or in a double boiler) simmer the evaporated milk and the vanilla bean until the surface begins to shimmer and a slight skin forms. Do not allow to boil. If you don't have a vanilla bean it's ok. The vanilla just brings out the sweet flavor a little bit. 3. While the milk is simmering, combine the egg whites, extracts (or whatever flavorings you choose), sweetener, and the salt. Try not to whisk quickly since you don't want the egg whites to foam. I use two forks, and scissor the tongs together to try to break up the membrane in the egg whites. Try to combine all of the ingredients as best as possible as you want to eliminate lumps in the final custard. 4. Once the surface of the warmed milk has begun to shimmer, turn the heat off and allow to cool a bit so as not to cook the eggs. 5. Pour the cooled milk mixture through a strainer into the egg mixture and mix together gently. Rinse the vanilla bean and save for future use. Note: You may want to pour the custard mixture through a fine sieve or collander several times to discard some of the larger chunks of egg membrane and other various lumps and irregularities. 6. Once the mixture is strained to your satisfaction, evenly distribute it into the four ramekins and fill the pan up to halfway up the sides of the ramekins with water. 7. Cover loosely with foil and Bake for about 40-50 minutes. Watch them closely, and do not overbake. When done, the custards should still be kind of wobbly in the center. The less time they bake the softer your custard will be, and because of the egg white substitution baking them too long will cause the custard to "Curdle." 8. Once done, Remove the pan from the oven and allow the ramekins to cool in the water bath. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. 9. To serve: In a small bowl, mix together the sugar and brown sugar to make your brulee sugar. Remove the ramekins from the fridge and sprinkle a teaspoon of the mixture evenly on the top of each custard. If you have a culinary torch, use it to caramelize the brulee sugar. Try to caramelize the sugar quickly and evenly so the custards remain cool. If you don't have a culinary torch, a preheated broiler or salamander will work fine. Just place the custards as close to the flame as possible for about 30 seconds or so. Watch closely, and do not over broil or the custards and the sugar will burn. :(. 10. Keep in mind that this dessert will have a slightly grainy texture as compared to a typical creme brulee recipe, but this one's actually ok for a night time treat -- even if you're watching your waistline! :) Have fun and enjoy! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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