Basil and Macerated Strawberry Crème Brulée
a very grown-up dessert
Crème brûlée will always remind me of childhood. Not because I was an incredibly sophisticated child partial to French custard puddings, but because it reminds me of my dad. As a man not often sighted in the kitchen, this was the showstopper dish he’d whip out on special, specifically adult-only occasions. It was his go-to dinner party dessert.
Given my memories of this highly-coveted, grown-up pudding, fondly associated with glamorously-dressed parents and a house full of laughter and friends, it’s surprising it took me so long to get round to making it myself. Sure, my interest in the pudding might have been prompted by Oscar’s random and delightful recent purchase of a blow torch as a ‘gift’ for me (he’s been like an excited child finding anything and everything edible to set fire to), but my late 20s also felt like an appropriately grown-up time to give crème brûlée a try.
The occasion was a joyous, extended family al fresco dinner last Friday. I brought a table out onto the cobbles, threw on a tablecloth and used Oscar’s siblings, cousins and their partners as unwitting guinea pigs for part of my next supper club menu. Given that the pre-requisite for attendance was arriving with either a bottle of Cointreau, Tequila, or some limes, by the time I got round to the brûléeing part of the dessert, I was about five watermelon margaritas deep and feeling overly zealous about my fire-wielding powers. With this in mind, it’s nothing short of a miracle that these turned out as good as they did, but somehow, they were damn delicious. So… I give you my very grown-up, dinner-party worthy…
Basil and Macerated Strawberry Crème Brulée
Serves 8
for the macerated strawberries
200g strawberries
1 tbsp caster sugar
5 basil leaves
for the crème brûlée
800ml double cream
200ml whole milk
3 stems of basil (leaves included)
10 egg yolks
100g caster sugar
4 tsp demerara sugar
Start by preparing the strawberries. Top and finely dice the strawberries and combine in a bowl with the sugar and basil leaves. Cover and set aside in the refrigerator for a few hours (overnight is fine too).
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
Add the cream and milk to a medium saucepan with the basil stems and set on medium heat. Bring almost to the boil – as soon as you see bubbles at the edges, remove from the heat.
Whilst the cream mixture is heating, whisk the egg yolks and caster sugar in a large mixing bowl until pale and slightly fluffy. Remove the basil from the hot cream mix and pour the cream into the beaten egg, continuing to whisk until combined. Use a slotted spoon to gently remove any pale foam that has gathered on top of the liquid and discard.
Set 8 ramekins in a deep roasting tin and fill the tin with hot water from the tap to half-way up the ramekins’ sides (don’t fill too much or you’ll have floating crèmes!). Pour the warm custard into the ramekins (you may want to transfer the mix to a jug beforehand for a nice, clean pour) so you fill them right to the top. Gently place the tray in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes, until the custard is set but there’s still a slight wobble. Remove the ramekins from the water and leave to cool. Refrigerate for 3-4 hours, or overnight.
When read to serve, sprinkle half a teaspoon of demerara sugar onto the top of each pudding, spreading to evenly coat the surface. If you want, you can get carried away and add more, for an even thicker crust. Use a blow torch** to melt and caramelise the sugar (a little bit of black is no bad thing). When the brûlée has cooled and firmed up (test with the gentle tap of a spoon), top with a delicate spoonful of macerated strawberry and serve.
**if you don’t have a blow torch, pre-heat your oven on grill setting to high. Place the crème brûlées under the grill for 1 minute, or until the sugar is melted and caramelised.
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