With a small spoon I break the fragile caramel crust, pick up a delicate cream … I close my eyes. I see waves of lavender fields, I hear the bees humming, collecting nectar, I feel the summer sun warming me up … I have not been to Provence yet, but every time I cook something lavender, my thoughts take me there … We will definitely go with you to Provence in early August, when it turns into a beautiful purple holiday with a sweet aroma – the lavender festival. And today I will write you a recipe for my favourite dessert: an amazingly delicate lavender crème brûlée!
With a small spoon I break the fragile caramel crust, pick up a delicate cream … I close my eyes. I see waves of lavender fields, I hear the bees humming, collecting nectar, I feel the summer sun warming me up … I have not been to Provence yet, but every time I cook something lavender, my thoughts take me there … We will definitely go with you to Provence in early August, when it turns into a beautiful purple holiday with a sweet aroma – the lavender festival. And today I will write you a recipe for my favourite dessert: an amazingly delicate lavender crème brûlée!- Prep time: 20 minutes + 3-4 hours’ chilling
- Cook time: 20 minutes
- Serves: 8
- Difficulty: medium
- Course: dessert
- Cookware: ramekins, kitchen blowtorch
- Cuisine: French
Ingredients
- 8 egg yolks
- 200 g icing sugar
- 800 ml double cream
- 4 tsp lavender paste or 4 sprigs of dry lavender
For the caramel crust:
- 50 g icing sugar
Cooking method
Step 1
Heat the oven to 160˚С. Beat together the egg yolks and icing sugar until white. Set aside. Put the cream with vanilla pod and seeds or vanilla paste in a saucepan. Peel the lavender buds of twigs and add to the cream (if you use a paste, then add it to the cream and stir). Gently bring the cream to a simmer, but do not boil.
Step 2
Straining through a fine sieve, slowly pour the hot cream into the beaten egg yolks, stirring with a whisk as you do so. Transfer the mixture to a bain-marie and cook the custard whisking constantly. The custard should thicken considerably, but be still liquid, and a thin film should adhere to a metal spoon dipped into the custard.
Step 3
Pour the custard into ramekins. Place the ramekins in a deep roasting tin, and half-fill the tin with hot water. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes. The ready crème brûlée should wobble like a jelly.
Step 4
Chill the crème brûlée in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours. During this time, it will cool completely. Before serving, sprinkle each crème brûlée with icing sugar or fine brown sugar, and caramelise with a blowtorch until golden brown. If you don’t have a blowtorch, then place crème brûlée under the grill. To do this, place the ramekins in a deep roasting tin, and half-fill the tin with cold water and ice cubes to prevent the crème brûlée from heating up.
My tips and tricks:
If you still don’t have special crème brûlée ramekins, I know the way out! You can use ordinary thick-walled porcelain or ceramic cups instead. And also, it will be much more convenient if you make the dessert the day before serving it and leave it in the refrigerator overnight.
Konstantin Vidoborenko’s wine recommendations:
Moscato d’Asti will be the perfect pair to this dessert. Sweet, slightly sparkling, with a long fruity-spicy aftertaste. The light wine will perfectly emphasize the creamy texture of the dessert, and the low alcohol level will allow you to enjoy this pair at any time of the day.
- 8 egg yolks
- 200 g icing sugar
- 800 ml double cream
- 4 tsp lavender paste or 4 sprigs of dry lavender
- For the caramel crust:
- 50 g icing sugar
- Heat the oven to 160˚С. Beat together the egg yolks and icing sugar until white. Set aside. Put the cream with vanilla pod and seeds or vanilla paste in a saucepan. Peel the lavender buds of twigs and add to the cream (if you use a paste, then add it to the cream and stir). Gently bring the cream to a simmer, but do not boil.
- Straining through a fine sieve, slowly pour the hot cream into the beaten egg yolks, stirring with a whisk as you do so. Transfer the mixture to a bain-marie and cook the custard whisking constantly. The custard should thicken considerably, but be still liquid, and a thin film should adhere to a metal spoon dipped into the custard.
- Pour the custard into ramekins. Place the ramekins in a deep roasting tin, and half-fill the tin with hot water. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes. The ready crème brûlée should wobble like a jelly.
- Chill the crème brûlée in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours. During this time, it will cool completely. Before serving, sprinkle each crème brûlée with icing sugar or fine brown sugar, and caramelise with a blowtorch until golden brown. If you don’t have a blowtorch, then place crème brûlée under the grill. To do this, place the ramekins in a deep roasting tin, and half-fill the tin with cold water and ice cubes to prevent the crème brûlée from heating up.