Crème Brúlée

By cookism

One of our perennial favourite desserts, the creme brulee’s seductiveness lies not merely in its taste and presentation, but also in the simplicity in achieving such elegance. With eggs, sugar and cream, along with lots of love, anyone can serve up an impressive creme brulee.

Ingredients

• 500 ml double cream
• 1 vanilla pod
• 1 to 2 tsp grand marnier
• 1 heap tsp orange zest
• 6 egg yolks
• 50 g caster sugar + 1 tbsp for each caramelised top
• Fruits of your choice. I use blueberries and cherries for this recipe

Preparation

Step 1

1. Preheat oven to 150C. Whisk yolks and 50g of sugar in a medium bowl until it falls in thick, pale-yellow ribbons.
2. Combine cream and orange zest in a saucepan. Split vanilla pod lengthwise and scrap out the seeds with the back of your knife. Add the pod and seeds into the saucepan and scald cream mixture over medium low heat. Pour cream mixture, a little at a time, into the egg mixture while constantly mixing with a spatula. Mix in Grand Marnier and strain crème brúlée mixture through a fine sieve into a jug.
3. Place ramekins in a deep baking dish and pour crème brúlée mixture into each ramekin. Carefully fill baking dish with hot water halfway up and transfer it into an oven. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes depending on the size of your ramekins, or until the custards are just set but slightly wobbly in the middle (give it a test after 30 minutes). Let it cool at room temperature and refrigerate until firm for at least 3 hours.
4. When ready to serve, sprinkle 1 tbsp of caster sugar evenly over the surface of each crème brûlée. Remove excess sugar and wipe around the top edge of the ramekins with a kitchen towel. then carefully caramelise with a blow-torch. Let cool for a minute to allow the sugar to harden. Top crème brûlée with blueberries, cherries and serve immediately.