Creme Brulee - with Falvouring Options and Serving Suggestions

Serves 4
Press this link for this recipe in Arabic 

Creme Brulee goes exceptionally well with the
unique falvour of lavender. One of my favourites :)

When done right, Creme Brulee is a real treat. 

The crunchy caramelised outside, hides folds of sweet creamy goodness underneath it, that starts melting as soon as its in your mouth. Breaths of infused flavourings are exhaled to let you in on the chef's secret ingredient. It is by far one of the best desserts! 

A friend of mine has been asking me for a good Creme Brulee recipe. I have promised to blog the recipe, but with the hectick schedule did not get a chance to do it earlier. Now before I head out, I decided I have to post it as I actually woke up craving this fabulous dessert. 

So here you go Racha, as promised: Creme Brulee with serving suggestions ... :)

Creme Brulee is a dessert made out of a rich custard of egg yolks mixed with sugar & cream. Creme Brulee is usually flavoured with vanilla, but don't be afraid to experiment with other flavours. It is known to go exceptionally well with lavender, ginger (my favourite), cardamom, cinnamon, mango...etc. Anything you can think of really.

Scrapings of 1 vanilla pod

It is always a good idea to top your creme brulee with something that indicates the flavour when using flavourings. For instance, before serving ginger creme brulee, top the caramelised sugar layer with some

caramelised ginger pieces. This way your diners will kind of know what to expect in terms of flavour.

To flavour your brulee, you can use liquid flavoruings, for convenience and ease. But I prefer to infuse the flavour into the cream instead. So the night before I make my brulee, I would heat the cream to just a boil, add my flavouring (grated ginger for instance), cover with cling film and let it infuse over night in the fridge. It is a little extra work, but worth the effort as it makes all the difference to the final product.

Bain Marie

Creme brulee is set by cooking in a bain marie in the oven.

A bain marie is cooking in a water bath. Basically you place your ramekins in a baking dish and pour enough water to fill 1/2 the baking dish. This method is used for slow cooking of delicate foods like brulee, cheesecakes, pates, mousses, and egg based puddings. It prevents overcooking, burning or drying the food.

Once the custard is done cooking, it is chilled, after chilling it is sprinkled with brown sugar and the sugar is burnt using a blowtorch or under a very hot broiler till well caramelised. You have to chill it after caramelising the sugar. Be careful as the sugar will be very hot. Right before serving top the caramelised sugar layer with raspberries, sliced strawberry, or any topping of your choice. You can even top with sugar threads, a sugar nest or chocolate shapes...


For a variation to the regular presentation, you can bake the creme brulee in a cooked pie crust as well. Can be done in mini pie shells, individual sized pie shells, or a large 12 serving pie shell. Then follow the full procedure of baking, chilling, caramelising, chilling...etc




If you are having a cocktail reception, then you can bake the brulee in heat-proof porcelain spoons or mini porcelain plates and have the waiter pass them around to guests.

(Another waiter or the same one will have to pick up empty mini plates from guests once done.)

As I always tell my trainees, your imagination is your only limitation. People like to be wowed, and like to see creative concepts, so why not apply that to even the most classic of desserts?



The Bottom Line - The Recipe
Vanilla Creme Brulee

You Need
3 egg yolks
50g caster sugar (don't use granulated sugar)
300 ml half-and-half or light cream
60 ml milk
the seeds of 1 vanilla pod


Preheat your oven to 375F.

In a mixing bowl, place the egg yolks, sugar and the vanilla seeds. Mix well with a whisk. once mixed, gradually whisk in the cream and the milk, till all is very well incorporated.
Strain through a very fine sieve. Pour the mixture into small ramekins  and place in a bain marie.

Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, allow to cool completely, then refrigerate for 1 hour. sprinkle the chilled creme brulee with soft brown sugar to completely cover the top, and burn with a blow torch or under a very hot grill till caramelised. Chill again, and serve cold.

Then Enjoy The Ultimate Pudding!

Hope you have enjoyed reading this recipe, let me know what you think, do leave me a comment before you leave :)) Join us and become a fan of my page on Facebook....