If you’ve read my column this week you’ll know that I have embarked on a mission to find an array of recipes for all my favourite dishes.
The trick, however, is that I recently developed a pesky intolerance for eggs so all my old recipes need to be replaced with egg-free variants.
I promised to keep you apprised of my progress, so today I’m going to share with you a recipe I found for crème brulee which is almost better than the traditional recipe.
This recipe is very quick to make and, due to the addition of corn flour, thickens in no time at all so if can have your pudding and eat it with very little pre-planning.
Having made the recipes twice, I have added my own notes which may be of use to you, but you can choose to follow the recipe as given on https://justnotthecakes.blogspot.co.za if you prefer.
The bottom line is, whether you follow my tips or make it as is, this recipe is far too delicious not to try – whether you’re going egg-free or not.
THE RECIPE
Ingredients
- 1 Cup of fresh cream .
- 1/2 Cup of Milk – I used low fat milk (2 per cent) and it worked well.
- 1/2 Cup Condense milk.
- 1 Tsp Vanilla Paste – since I couldn’t find this in the local supermarket I used 1 TBSP Vanilla Essence which worked just as well.
- 3 TBSP Corn Flour – this left the pudding a little too set and stiff for my liking so I reduced it to 2TBSP and this gave a luxurious creamy pudding without the stiffness.
- Sugar – To Caramelize on Top.
- Mix Corn flour with milk and keep aside.
- In a pan, heat the Fresh cream , condense milk and vanilla paste / essence over a medium flame.
- Bring the fresh cream mixture to boil. Keep stirring the mixture.
- When it comes to boil, add the milk-corn flour mixture and keep stirring. Keep the heat low.
- Stir until the custard mixture thickens. ( The consistency should be thicker than the white sauce).
- When it reaches dropping consistency. Take off the heat and whisk with a hand whisk to break any lumps and ensure a velvety texture.
- Pout it in Ramekins or a baking dish.
- Preheat the oven at 200C.
- Fill a deep pan with 1/3rd of hot steaming water (to create a water bath).
- Place the Ramekins into the steaming water.
- Bake it for 30 Minutes or till it sets – you may find that the top is set but the custard is still a little runny, don’t worry as the custard will set as it cools.
- Take the ramekins out of the water bath Once it is done allow it to cool . Cover it with a cling wrap and refrigerate it overnight or until it is set and you an’t wait any longer. I served my creme brulee within two hours of baking and it was set and delicious.
Once the baking is done, allow the pudding to cool down and put it in the fridge to allow the custard to completely set.
Many recipes tell you to allow the custard to set overnight but if you’re anything like me the pudding tends to call your name and demand to be eaten.
Whether you have the will power to wait until tomorrow or tend towards instant gratification, you’ll need to finish off the pud just before serving it.
This involves creating the crackling crunch on top which is easily done if you have a kitchen torch.
It’s best to have your custard at room temperature before creating the crust so if you have put it in the fridge, allow about half an hour for the custard to get to room temperature before firing up your torch.
Cover the top of your creme brulee with a layer of sugar (I like the very brown treacle sugar but white sugar will work just as well) and then, using the highest flame setting, evenly melt the sugar until it is all melted and brown.
If you’re unsure of how to do this check out this short video.
Once the sugar cools you’ll have a lovely hard, crackling cover to make eating your pud that much more fun.
Check in in a fortnight to see what other delectable delights I have found or send me your recipes to samk@caxton.co.za and, if I try them and like them, I may share them on this blog.
