Lavender Crème Brûlée

Name: How to cook Lavender Crème Brûlée - cookcic.com
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Cuisine: Us

Introduce

Chef :

Maggie Conlon Martin

Lavender Crème Brûlée

We tried a local French restaurant (La Boucherie) one night so my sister could try bone marrow and escargot for the first time. Everything we had was outstanding; but what REALLY blew us away was their lavender crème brûlée! Dee-Dee and I both like crème brûlée, in a take-it-or-leave-it kinda way, but we'd never before had LAVENDER crème brûlée. WOW! We were so bummed that we'd had such a filling meal that we couldn't possibly eat a second helping. So I knew I had to try making it at home. Let me just say, it was definitely a "When Harry Met Sally" moment: "I'll have what she's having!"

Ingredient

4 cups

heavy cream

1-1/2 T.

organic dried culinary lavender

3/4 cup

granulated sugar, divided (plus more for topping)

1 T.

vanilla extract

egg yolks

1/4 tsp.

salt

Cooking instructions

* Step 1

Preheat the oven to 320°F. Bring a kettle of water to a boil. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, begin heating the heavy cream. Stir in the lavender and let this mixture come to a slight simmer along the edges of the pan. Don't let the cream boil.

* Step 2

Add 1/4 cup of sugar to the cream and stir to combine. Stirring frequently, cook for 15 minutes, keeping mixture hot but not boiling. Remove the saucepan from the heat.

* Step 3

Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks with the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and the salt in a medium bowl. Temper the egg yolks by slowly streaming in about 1/4 cup of the heated cream to the egg yolks, whisking vigorously as you do. This is to prevent them from turning into scrambled eggs!

* Step 4

Add the tempered yolk mixture to the saucepan with the cream and whisk vigorously to combine. Whisk in the vanilla. Pour this custard through a fine mesh sieve into a large bowl.

* Step 5

Using a ladle, distribute the custard among 8 (6 oz.) ramekins. Place the ramekins in a deep roasting pan and place them in the oven on the second to lowest rack. Pour the boiled water from the kettle into the roasting pan until the water reaches halfway up the sides of the ramekins, being careful not to pour any water into the actual ramekins.

* Step 6

Bake at 320°F for approximately 1 hour, or until the custard is set and the centers only jiggle slightly. If after an hour the crème brûlée is not really set, increase the heat to 350°F for another 10 minutes or so, keeping an eye on them. Let the crème brûlée come to room temperature before covering with plastic wrap and placing the fridge to chill for at least 3 hours (or overnight).

* Step 7

Sis and I couldn't wait 3 hours! They looked and smelled SO good! So we "sampled" one of the small custard cups still warm (without brûléeing it). OMG!!!! Sooooo delicious!!

* Step 8

Before serving, sprinkle a teaspoon or two of granulated sugar over the top of each crème brûlée. Then, use a kitchen torch to caramelize the sugar, or place under a broiler for a minute, until the top turns amber, with just a few dark spots. Sugar will crisp sitting about a minute. Serve immediately.