Crème bruleé is basically the grown ups equivalent to a bowl of custard for pudding.
Its smooth silky texture topped with a brittle sugar crust makes it impossible to resist. And the best news…its incredibly easy to make!
I think it’s one of those puddings that people think must be really hard to make ( and that’s exactly what chefs want you to think) but really, once you see how easy it is to make you will be devouring these little darlings on a regular basis…(hey, in my opinion, diets are overrated!)
And the fact that this little pud has ginger in it to spice it up a little, means you can easily pretend this is a VERY healthy pudding as ginger has magical health benefits. To name just a few, it helps the assimilation of nutrients into the body and it’s a natural aphrodisiac…
And, as if these little pots of loveliness could get any better…they can also be made up to two days in advance, so make the perfect pudding for a dinner party!
- 6 egg yolks
- 40 grams sugar
- 600 ml double cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- a thumb of ginger, peeled and grated
- enough caster sugar to sprinkle on the top (about 4 tablespoons)
- You will need 4 ramekins, or one large ovenproof bowl for sharing...or my personal favourite: a mixture of vintage tea cups (that can go in the oven)
- First up, preheat the oven to 150 C
- Place the ovenproof ramekins in baking tray
- Separate the eggs, and keep the whites aside to use to make meringue kisses or pavlova
- Mix the egg yolks and caster sugar (do this in a bowl which can sit a sieve on top of it)
- Pour the cream into a heavy based saucepan and add vanilla and a finger of grated ginger.
- Bring to the boil over a medium heat. Once the cream is boiling, keep an eye on it as it can easily bubble over. You want it to bubble gently away for 2 minutes. Then turn off the heat.
- Now place a fine sieve over the bowl (this way the sieve will capture the ginger) and pour the hot cream over the eggy sugary mixture (I know, I know all the technical lingo). Stir the whole time
- Now divide between the ramekins
- Pour water into the tray about ⅔ up the sides of the ramekins and bake for 40 mins.
- When it's cooked, it should still jiggle slightly when you give it a little shake. We like a bit of wobble. Thankfully!
- Remove from the oven and from the baking tray. When cool enough pop them into the fridge.
- Sprinkle with sugar and caramelise with a blow torch until it goes a gorgeous golden colour.
- I'm completely obsessed with edible flowers, so I decorated mine with a camomile flower, a sprig of mint and a gorgeous blue starflower of borage which tastes like honey! My mum is a green fingered garden goddess, so grows me beautiful flowers to use in my cooking, but when she's away I like to use Maddox farm edible flowers from the lovely Jan which are fab! http://www.maddocksfarmorganics.co.uk/page2.html
- If you don't have a blow torch,which I imagine most people won't, dont panic! You can easily pop them under the grill for 30 seconds or so, but keep an eye on them, you don't want charred tops. ( Note: if you do the grill method, just pop them back in the fridge for ½ hour or so to firm up again.
If you don’t have a blow torch,which I imagine most people won’t, dont panic! You can easily pop them under the grill for 30 seconds or so, but keep an eye on them, you don’t want charred tops. ( Note: if you do the grill method, just pop them back in the fridge for 1/2 hour or so to firm up again.
Dig in and enjoy!
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