ok - I accept that there are any number of definitions. The next time my friend Graham stands on his chair in a restaurant and bellows 'this is NOT a creme brulee' I shall attempt to reason with him.
On the other hand - I have extremely strong views on this matter. So strong, in fact, that I am only persuaded by my better half to order a dessert that, in the first years of our marriage, gave me the most sublime pleasure. I always accompany the order with the strictest of strictures. The custard in the creme brulee should be like a fondant - lighter, almost, than air - and not like emulsion paint. It should be cool. The top should be red hot - sizzling, a fire hazard of a dessert. The top should be crisp, but friable, not a disc of carbon fibre-like durability. Any thought of fruit should be excised from the mind with the very same blowtorch that crisps the top.
I'm afraid to say that last night's brulee was a disappointment. Again.