Recipes

Vanilla and Lavender Crème Brûlée

Crème Brûlée Photo by Alex Munsell on Unsplash

Crème Brûlée is an elegant and classic dessert. When I first tried it I remember thinking, how could only a few simple ingredients put together taste so good?

A touch of lavender adds an aromatic hint of spring to the brulee and complements the vanilla flavours. When cooking with lavender only a small amount is needed, and always make sure you use a variety suitable for cooking. Boutiques are usually the best when searching for smaller bunches.

If you don’t have a blowtorch for caramelizing the top you can use your grill to create the desired effect. Remember to cook the brulees on a low heat until the centre of the brulee is moving slightly when gently moving the trey.

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Vanilla Lavender Crème Brûlée Recipe

Recipe rating: 2.1 from 12 votes
Recipe by Chris Arkadieff Course: DessertCuisine: French, British, SpanishDifficulty: Medium
Servings

2

servings
Prep time

15

minutes
Cooking time

45

minutes
Total time

1

hour

Crème Brûlée is an elegant and classic dessert.

Ingredients

  • 500 ml double cream

  • 1 vanilla pod split in two

  • 100 g castor sugar

  • 6 egg yolks

  • 1 tsp of lavender petals

Directions

  • Preheat your oven to 150 degrees Celsius.
  • Pour the cream into a saucepan and add the vanilla pod and lavender.
  • Bring the cream to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer gently for 5 minutes.
  • In a separate bowl whisk the egg yolks and sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy.
  • Remove the cream from the stove and pour slowly over the egg mixture whilst continually stirring to prevent cooking the egg yolks.
  • Strain the mixture into a large jug.
  • Place the ramekins or small heat-proof bowls onto a large tray and fill the tray two-thirds with water. Pour the brulee mixture into the ramekins.
  • Carefully place the tray into the oven and bake for 45 minutes until just set. They should be slightly wobbly in the centre. Remove from the oven and set aside to chill.
  • Before serving sprinkle granulated sugar over the surface of the brulee. Using a blowtorch slowly caramelize the sugar until set solid.
  • Alternatively place on a small tray and slowly caramelize the sugar under a hot grill. Enjoy.
Chris Arkadieff

Chris Arkadieff was born and raised in Australia where he gathered his first cooking experiences and won an Ansett “Best Apprentice Chef of the Year ” award. He was cooking on the exclusive Hayman Island in Australia, voted number two resort in the world, later he worked in Italy and did two stages in New York. He moved to London in 1999 to start working with Gordon Ramsay Group. After working first as sous chef and then head chef in London, he was in 2014 sent to Hong Kong to become the head chef for Gordon Ramsay’s group there. He is now head chef of the Strand Dining Rooms. He is also chef contributor to one of Prague’s leading food specialists Roman Vanek who wrote also a best selling cook book.

Published by
Chris Arkadieff
Tags: SB001
18 June 2020 9:58 AM