A twist on the classic crème brûlée. Creamy, decadent and golden with the aroma and flavors of saffron and cardamom. It gives the feel of a Mediterranean dessert.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups whipping cream
- 1/4 tsp saffron
- 2 whole green cardamom pods
- 4 egg yolks
- 1 whole egg
- 3/4 cup sugar, extra for the brûlée
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 325 F. Add saffron, vanilla and cream into a saucepan. Heat on low, watching not to boil it over. Once it comes to a rolling boil. Turn off the heat and let sit.
- In another bowl, whisk the egg yolks, whole egg and sugar together. Whisk in the hot cream introducing it in small batches, whisking constantly after each addition. Do not over whisk and foam.
- Place six ramekins or little baking cups into a large baking tray. Pour boiling water carefully around the dishes filling the tray enough to fill the ramekins a little more than halfway. I used four ramekins and an oval baking dish.
- Strain and pour the liquid carefully into the placed ramekins. With the back of a spoon, pop off any air bubbles on the surface. Place
- Bake them for about 30 minutes, until they are set around the edges, but still have a little jiggle to them when gently moved. Let the crème stay in the water bath for another 15 minutes.
- Gently remove them and let cool completely. Once cooled, place them to chill in the fridge overnight or at least 6 hours before serving.
- When ready to serve, sprinkle each custard with a thin layer of sugar. Carefully ignite a kitchen torch and caramelize the sugar.
- If you don't have a torch, get the oven on high broil for about 10 minutes. Place the custards on the topmost rack and watch. Once the sugar caramelizes, remove and let cool. The downside to oven broiling is that the custard will be hot as well. That's what I did :( The next time, I'm investing in a torch Serve right away, enjoy!
