Recipes

Crème brûlée

Crème brûlée

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Mark Moriarty
Sat Feb 10 2024 - 03:59
Serves: 2
Course: Dessert
Cooking Time: 1 hr
Prep Time: 15 mins
Ingredients
  • 500ml cream
  • 2 fresh vanilla pods or 2tbsp extract
  • 6 large egg yolks
  • 60g caster sugar (for the custard)
  • Pinch sea salt
  • 30g caster sugar (for brûleé)
  1. Preheat your oven to 120 degrees.
  2. Place a saucepan on the heat and add the cream. Scrape in the vanilla seeds along with the pods. Gently heat the cream until it is warm, without boiling it.
  3. In a separate bowl, add the egg yolks, sugar and salt and mix gently with a spoon or spatula to combine it all, trying not to add air. Pour the warm cream in on top and mix again with a spoon. Place a sheet of cling film on the liquid and allow the mix to rest and infuse at room temperature for one hour.
  4. Place a deep, ovenproof rectangular dish (15cm long x 10cm wide x 6cm deep is ideal), into a deep oven tray. Boil the kettle and fill the oven tray until the water reaches halfway up the outside of the brûlée dish. Remove the cling film from the custard and take out the vanilla pods. Mix gently with a spoon to evenly distribute the egg before pouring the mix into the brûlée dish until it is three-quarters of the way to the top.
  5. Cover the oven tray with a sheet of tinfoil and carefully transfer to the oven, keeping it straight. Cook for one hour, or until the custard is completely set and barely wobbles. Remove the dish from the oven tray carefully and chill in the fridge.
  6. When ready to serve, preheat your grill to its highest setting. Sprinkle a good amount of the caster sugar evenly on top of the custard and caramelise under the grill for two minutes until the sugar begins to caramelise and go crisp. Using a deep dish will keep the custard cold while the top caramelises quickly.
Mark Moriarty

Mark Moriarty

Mark Moriarty is an award winning chef, TV host, author and Irish Times columnist.

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